President Quack

There was an article in the New York Times today, buried on page A18, that I hope will get more attention than I expect it will. It seems that John McCain has decided to offer an opinion on the cause of autism. This is what he said to a crowd in Texas:

It’s indisputable that autism is on the rise among children. The question is, what’s causing it? And we go back and forth, and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.

Really Senator? Exactly what "strong evidence" would that be?

There has not been a study done yet that has found a link between this preservative, Thimerosal, which contains Mercury, and autism. None at all. In fact, autism continues to rise in children despite the fact that this stuff has been removed from most vaccines.

So where exactly does McCain get this "evidence" he claims to have seen or read if not from the Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health or any of the other medical research institutions in our country where this kind of thing is usually investigated?

I think I know. I'm guessing he believes there is strong evidence of such a link because Jenny McCarthy told him there is one. Because hey, if you can't believe breast-implanted blond bimbos who posed for Playboy when it comes to medical science, then who can you believe?

This may not look like much of a problem on the surface, a politician spouting off about something he knows nothing about. But this is a slippery slope we will be heading down if this man becomes President. It is bad enough that the home-schooling kooks have already gotten a lot of publicity for their stupid ideas due to the support they now get from the aforementioned bimbo, who has "written" a book on the subject, because big tits get attention. Now there has been a legitimacy bestowed upon an idea that is pure quackery and very dangerous, as there is evidence that more and more parents are refusing vaccines for their children. You know, those "dangerous" things that eradicated polio and smallpox. This lending of legitimacy to these crazies becomes much more dangerous if McCain becomes responsible for appointing the heads of the NIH and the CDC, not to mention the cabinet post of Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Will the "vaccines-cause-autism" crowd control national health policy? Would public schools around the country be forced to stop requiring students to be vaccinated? Wouldn't that possibly lead to an outbreak of diseases like polio, measles, mumps, etc?

Think this isn't possible? Look at South Africa. The president of South Africa has been majorly influenced by the HIV-denial crowd, and look what has happened to that country. AIDS is decimating South Africa and there is no effort on the part of the government to make the right drugs available or to even promote the idea of safer sex practices. The minister of health there continues to promote the silly idea that AIDS can be treated with proper nutrition and vitamins, which, oddly enough, is pretty much the same idea Jenny McCarthy pushes as a cure for autism.

This is the kind of thing that happens when you allow non-scientists with an agenda to hijack scientific discourse. The idea of a presidential candidate promoting their agenda is horrifying. McCain and President Mbeki of South Africa would get along great.

What will come next, President McCain forcing the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to say that the world is only 6,000 years old?

Haven't we had an anti-science President long enough?