Lowell's Letter to the Editor of the Argus Leader

Below is one of the many letters Lowell has submitted to the Argus Leader over the past few years.  Unfortunately for Lowell, the vast majority of letters he submits are rejected, because even a paper who thrives upon controversial letters written by the mentally unstable cannot bring itself to print most of the tripe Lowell produces.

In any case, on a slow news day and when they want to drum up a little controversy, they decided to print the following:

Congress set up the special vaccine court in 1986 when pharmaceutical companies faced a liability crisis. Vaccines were being blamed for catastrophic injuries to children, and some vaccine manufacturers threatened to quit the business.

The special court set up by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled in February 2009 that neither a preservative used in vaccines nor the vaccines themselves could be linked to autism. The ruling, which involved three test cases, affects almost 5,000 children whose parents have filed claims with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

If it is true that vaccines do not cause autism, then how is it that there are doctors in this nation reversing autism by use of mercury (thimerosal) and viral overload detoxification?

Let's take a look at this? We have Dr. Rashid Buttar of North Carolina specializing in autism reversal by use of DMPS and other specialized attention to the specific health, diet and supplementation needs of an autistic child. His own son's autism was reversed through his biomedial detoxification protocol. At the age of 5, Buttar's son testified before the U.S. Congress. Buttar's informative Web site and clinic information are found at http://drbuttar.com/. He also trains other doctors nationwide. Buttar has a good video on his site that explains what has gone on in the North Carolina medical board in regard to his work.

Here is an interesting Web site by Stan Kurtz concerning similar results using an antiviral protocol: www.stankurtz.org/ biomedical/comprehensive-antiviral-approach.html.
Here is what Kurtz had to say: "My child may have had some type of genetic predisposition, sure, but when I helped him take care of his nutritional, fungal, viral, bacterial and toxic issues, he recovered."

The Autism Research Institute - www.autism.com - has documented more than 1,000 cases of autism recovery through approaches that include infection and toxin management.

Here is an interesting Web site concerning information on the federal court decision: http://www.safeminds.org/pressroom/press_releases.html.

Lowell K. Hubbs (originally published 04/07/09)

The thing about Lowell is, he doesn't understand science or the burden of proof.  Lowell merely reads something on the Internet and accepts it as face value without bothering to ask the hard questions about randomized double-blind clinical studies, peer-reviewed research published in scholarly journals, or duplication of results.

Instead, Lowell visits the website of a self-proclaimed "expert" like Dr. Rashid Buttar and he accepts what Buttar says without ever bothering to do his own research or to question Buttar's methods.  Why does Lowell do this?  Well the answer is clear; Lowell believes practically anything from anyone who goes against mainstream medicine and proven science.

What Lowell fails to mention in his letter, or on any of his various websites or blogs, is that Dr. Buttar has never been able to provide any evidence that he can cure or reverse autism.  He has never written a peer-reviewed study, he has never conducted double-blind clinical trials for his treatments, and aside from unsubstantiated claims and personal documents he has provided on his website, there is no evidence his treatments are beneficial in any way.

In fact Buttar even admitted he has never even bothered to prove his own treatments work as he suspects they do.  For example, one of Buttar's favorite autism treatments was to rub a cream on autistic children which he felt would pass through the skin, be absorbed into the bloodstream, bond to heavy metals (which Buttar and other anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists believe are the root cause of autism) and then be excreted by the kidneys.

So when Buttar was asked if he has ever tested his cream to determine if it was in fact being absorbed through the skin, this was his response:

"No, we haven't done that. Why would I waste my time proving something that I already know is working innately?"

Buttar goes on to say the following:

"It would be nice to know how it works, but it is irrelevant. It works based on empirical evidence. "

Is there any wonder why these anti-vaccine types are never taken seriously?  They not only ignore science, but they flat out refuse to submit to scientific testing.  Then again keep in mind Buttar is the same guy who recommends collecting urine from a child, filtering it, and then injecting it back into the child in order to strengthen the immune system.  Apparently this treatment works equally well in cancer patients if you are to ask Buttar, but unfortunately (predictably), Buttar has no studies or science to back up his claims.

Buttar is also the same man who has claimed to have a "100% success rate" in curing cancer.  Don't bother asking him for evidence to prove it however, and of course pay no attention to the cancer patients who visited Buttar and then proceeded to pass away.  I guess once a person dies he is no longer a patient of Dr. Buttar and is thus excluded from his calculations. 

This is probably why the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners has disciplined Buttar and restricted his practice so that he is no longer permitted to treat children or cancer patients.   

Of course anytime one of these quacks is disciplined by a regulatory board, conspiracy theorists like Lowell come out of the woodwork and claim these "visionaries" are being suppressed because they dared to speak out against modern science-based medicine.  Granted there is no evidence to support such a claim, but since when has evidence ever mattered to a conspiracy theorist?

Thankfully for Lowell, the Argus Leader doesn't bother to fact-check any letters submitted for publication, and therefore we may see more of his nonsense published in the future as well.  Although they aren't very helpful in scientific or medical terms, they are almost always entertaining.

Lowell Admits He Has Relied Upon Prescriptions!

One may think with all of Lowell's medical "knowledge" and "expertise" that he should be able to solve any medical issue with natural therapies, alternative medicine, supplements, proper diet, or the occasional "spinal adjustment" from his local Chiropractor, but yet it seems Lowell has himself realized that in some cases pharmaceuticals are beneficial.

Case in point, if you read the following blog entries written by Mr. Hubbs, you can clearly see he has admitted to taking prescription Paxil.

http://fiddaman.blogspot.com/2008/05/seroxat-withdrawal-reports-part-iii.html

"Lowell Hubbs - I seen the Paxil commercials, and was on another prescription drug, and I asked to be swithched to Paxil. I never questioned if Paxil was addictive, was told nothing by my doctor. Reading pharmacy and drug book information, did not say anything about it being habit-forming, nor addictive. After a few months on the drug, I tried going off, cold turkey, and the result was electric zaps throughout my body, mostly my arms and legs, and a strange whoosh-like sound in my head, that every time I moved; it felt like some sort of seizure of brief but repeatative nature. Memory is terrible; that and extreme fatigue, now that I have tapered the dosage to 10 mgs; I am scared of going to 5mgs. I will know later how that turns out. Paxil is a terrrible drug-that I never would have taken, had I known the truth. It is beyond human comprehension, how such lies can be perpetrated on such a large number of people across this entire country; and all in the name of wrongful profit. - S. D."

A few points to take from this admission.  First, Lowell admits he was on another prescription before asking his Doctor to prescribe Paxil.  Thus we know two things.  Number one, Lowell depends upon drugs to solve problems because even he has learned from experience that alternative medicine can't cure everything.

Number two, Lowell seeks the medical advice and guidance of a real medical doctor.  We know this because he admitted it, and the fact that Chiropractors and health food store employees are not able to write prescriptions.

It is also interesting to note that Lowell reports a "strange whoosh-like sound in [his] head".  Of course anyone who has ever met Lowell can tell you that is most likely the result of logic and common sense passing directly in to one ear and out the other, but to Lowell this is a symptom.

Makes you wonder if Lowell took another drug to solve that issue doesn't it?

So how about Lowell's next admission:

"Lowell Hubbs - I think the greatest disservice GSK did, was to falsely claim only drug addicts and the like, could get hooked on, or for only such poeple could paxil become habit forming? So, all these people having signed this petion, are drug addicts? For one, I am not! The first 6 months I took Paxil, it seemed to work well for the stress related anxiety I was prescribed for. the TV comercials bragged it up as good for such a condition, and being non habit forming; LIERS!!! My doctor never informed me of severe withdrawal I may experiance, or when I should get off the drug, basically prescribed more sample, by phoning his nurses. After six months, I tried to go off cold turkey; after four days had severe shock waves in my brain, body, and up and down my legs. Zapping was so severe, I could hardly hold my eyes open; to sit still, with your eyes shut was the best. Paxil; non habit forming??? I then went back on 20mg. and proceeded down to 10, 5, and the 0. over 4 months time; each step was hell; with more of the same, no sleep, just nightmares, migraines I never had before. Each step down, after a couple days, I had to return to the previous dosage, and start over back down, because the brainzapping/ body pulsing, and near inability to function and concentrate, were gone; I could not stay at work, without more drug. I was continually late for work; could not wake up; was no exhausted. I nearly lost my job. now after 4 months I am off Paxil for 20 days; and still from time to time I am getting brain zaps and whooshing sounds in my ears and head; at time it feels like someone pumped my head full of air; my balance and coordination are off- to the point it is hard to work, also. When I read the article on the 3 part article on the pineal gland, on www. antidepressants facts .com, it is clear that Paxil causes brain damage, thanks so much, GSK, and being Paxil has such a short half life, about 4 days, it seems; these results of my experiance can be looked at as nothong but possible brain damage, my brain is still trying to find ways to compensate for. Now, after 20 days, I am developing sever panic attackson awaking in the morning, that I had not before. What do I do now; go get myself hooked on more Xanax? I believe all SSRI drugs are dangerous; and Paxil is the worst. What about the violent anger,and frustration this drug produces?This is a treatment that makes people better able to function in life? It is biggest lie ever told; for profit of the already rich, to get richer! GSK, I hope that when all the lawsuits are completed, you no longer exist, to harm anyone else; it can not come soon enough! GSK, feel free to email me at cornfieldmn@yahoo.com, and that with any appoligy you have the balls to make! Again I ask you in top management to please take your own poison, for 6 months, an then go off cold turkey; or even wean off slowly, maybe you would have an attitude adjustment!!! Profits will mean nothing, when you get to the end of your life; and you have to answer for the pain you have caused. I hope you are made to experiance the agony, times 1000, the people that have signed this petion, have felt! - USA"

So here we learn even more about Mr. Hubbs.  We learn he was diagnosed with "stress related anxiety" and that he was more that willing to take pills so solve this issue.  Mr. Hubbs also admits he took Paxil for at least six months with no negative effects.

So when Lowell starts experiencing symptoms, does he question what might be causing them?  No, instead he jumps on the anti-pharmaceutical bandwagon and assumes everything that is wrong with him is due to some miracle pill he is taking.  However what Lowell fails to understand is SSRIs such as Paxil build up in the system to a maximum level within four to six weeks.  So if the drug was really responsible for everything Lowell claims, why did he have no issues for six months?

Thankfully we have Lowell's own admission that Paxil causes brain damage which might actually have some merit to it because based upon my interactions with Lowell it would seem quite obvious even to a casual observer than the man does in fact suffer from brain damage.  Granted the brain damage may have occurred from all of his years being dependent upon the bottle (a trail of DUIs and extended prison time is evidence enough of that), or it might be a result of "self-medicating" with non-legal drugs of his choosing.  With Lowell anything is possible.

It also appears that Lowell has experience with Xanax, which tells us once again that he is a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of guy.  Bear in mind he admits he has experienced "violent anger" as well, but what more can you expect from a man who can't rely upon his brain to fight his battles?

Another Serving of Crazy from Lowell Hubbs

"The ecomonmy [sic] did not get the way it currently is by accident, or by just lack of oversight and banking regulation. There is far more to it that is going to bring this country to its knees. There are already in place FEMA civilian prison camps, staffed and ready, in case that martial law is imposed."

[…]

"Fire up America, learn the truth; this economy is that way on purpose. The potentially revolting citizenry stockades are already built, staffed, and ready for operation. Enter The New World Order. Dont [sic] think it won't happen. From what I am reading this will not be nor come from our own military but mostly troops from foreign soil. The small armed groups that revolt will not stand a chance; in fact if guns are found you may be shot or interned. Your choice may be comply or go out in a hail of bullets blaze of glory; maybe you can kill a few."  ~Lowell Hubbs

 

Umm, I don't even know where to begin with this. This is a whole new level of insanity right here, but Lowell's words speak for themselves. This is a man who honestly believes the United States federal government has prison camps built and ready in case the citizens revolt. This is a man who believes (for whatever reason) the economy is being manipulated by the government on purpose as if there is some benefit to having a poor national economy and millions of people out of work.

This is a man who seems to be suggesting people arm themselves and "go out in a hail of bullets blaze of glory". Then again, that doesn't really shock me considering I've seen Lowell's mental instability first hand. This man is a danger to himself and everyone around him, but it just goes to show Lowell is a conspiracy theorist on all levels, even when it includes condoning or suggesting violence against his fellow man.

To some degree I suppose the threat of violence is inevitable from Lowell as he lacks the intelligence to convince people via words, logic, or reason. There comes a point when conspiracy theorists such as Lowell are left with nothing but their threats against others, and unfortunately Lowell is much like a hand grenade with the pin removed. It is only a matter of time before he/it explodes, and once that happens there will be people coming out of the woodwork wondering why they didn't recognize the warning signs before they led to tragedy.

With Lowell, I would guess it is just a matter of time before he ends up hurting someone or he is back in prison. We can only hope it is the latter.

Lowell Hubbs Quote of the Day

“How credible is anything you are told by people in that medical field, when modern medicine is one of the leading causes of death in America. They have all been brainwashed, just like you. Any doctor that speaks out is sytematically [sic] destroyed; it is just a fact.” ~Lowell K. Hubbs

Well there you have it.  Of course don't bother asking Lowell to prove that modern medicine is one of the leading causes of death in America, because he will point you to his personal website as evidence.  

However, for those of us interested in real facts supported by science, here is a complete listing of the most common causes of death in the US.

• Heart disease: 616,067
• Cancer: 562,875
• Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 135,952
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 127,924
• Accidents (unintentional injuries): 123,706
• Alzheimer's disease: 74,632
• Diabetes: 71,382
• Influenza and Pneumonia: 52,717
• Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,448
• Septicemia: 34,828

Complete table with source documentation can be found here.

So apparently if you die of a medical condition, Lowell believes that is the fault of modern medicine. That makes perfect sense.  Of course any doctor who dares speak out against the medical establishment is "sytematically [sic] destroyed", and those that don't speak out are simply "brainwashed".  I guess that is rather convenient, but in reality such a statement with no supporting evidence is what we call a conspiracy theory.

The reality of the situation is that countless doctors do speak out against medical techniques, drug interactions, process errors and numerous other medical issues each and every day.  This is what helps to keep medicine evolving and what helps to develop newer and better treatments. 

Case in point, when doctors and researchers started realizing that there were problems with Vioxx, did they get ostracized from the medical community for speaking out?  No they didn't, and in fact it led to an FDA investigation, the drug being pulled from the market, and eventually billions of dollars (yes that is billions with a "b") worth of fines and settlements being paid by Merck.

Yet throughout all of the process, not a single doctor or researcher lost his or her job or was in any way harmed by voicing their opinion that was a direct assault against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies on the planet.

I guess not everyone in the medical community is as brainwashed as Mr. Hubbs would have us believe.

Chiropractors Admit Their Treatments Are Based On False And Outdated Beliefs

For whatever reason, most anti-vaccinationists are also staunch supporters of chiropractic treatment for anything that ails the human body.  I suspect this has to do with them wanting to find "alternative" treatments to common diseases and medical issues and somehow believing that manipulating or pushing on a spine is somehow superior to surgery or pharmaceuticals (even if they have no peer-reviewed data to support such a viewpoint).

More times than not, these are the types of people who display a complete disregard for the scientific method and never seem to particularly care that there has yet to be a single reputable, peer-reviewed study proving chiropractic subluxations even exist or that chiropractic manipulations can effectively treat any problem other than routine lower back pain.

The fact is, many of these alternative health proponents believe what chiropractors tell them to believe, and they don't feel they need any of that pesky science to support their opinions.  However, for those of us who don't wish to remain blinded by ignorance, there is a growing mountain of evidence which continues to show chiropractic care for what it is... nothing more than a modern version of snake-oil.

Case in point there was even an article written and published in the journal Chiropractic and Osteopathy which went into great detail about how chiropractic treatments are based upon false and outdated beliefs.  The real kicker about this article was the fact it was written by four chiropractors, which pretty much serves as a preemptive strike against the alt-med typical defense that "mainstream medicine tries to silence chiropractors".

In any case the article that references these developments can be found here and the published article that appears in the journal of Chiropractic and Osteopathy appears here.  Although both the article and the paper itself are informative, here are a few highlights:

In the 114 years since chiropractic began, the existence of chiropractic subluxations has never been objectively demonstrated. They have never been shown to cause interference with the nervous system. They have never been shown to cause disease. Critics of chiropractic have been pointing this out for decades, but now chiropractors themselves have come to the same conclusion.

[...]

There is a significant lack of evidence in the literature to fulfill Hill’s criteria of causation as regards chiropractic subluxation. No supportive evidence is found for the chiropractic subluxation being associated with any disease process or of creating suboptimal health conditions requiring intervention. Regardless of popular appeal this leaves the subluxation construct in the realm of unsupported speculation. This lack of supportive evidence suggests the subluxation construct has no valid clinical applicability.

[...]

In two recent studies cited in the Mirtz et al. article, 98% of chiropractors believed that “most” or “many” diseases were caused by spinal misalignments and over 75% of chiropractors believed that subluxation was a significant contributing factor to 50% or more of visceral disorders (such as asthma and colic), an implausible idea that is not supported by any evidence whatsoever.

So with all that said, am I suggesting we should ban all chiropractors from practicing whatever it is they do?  Not at all.  I just believe chiropractors need to be honest about what they can and cannot do.  They may be able to help with minor joint pain and they may be able to assist with back or next pain (albeit not any better than a massage therapist or occupational therapist in most cases).

What I have a problem with is the "crackpot" self-proclaimed doctors out there who think a couple of years of chiropractic school means they can cure disease or serious medical conditions merely by adjusting a spine or cracking a back.  I have seen chiropractors claim they can treat conditions ranging from autism or cancer to heart disease and sadly many of the alternative medicine proponents never stop to ask why there are no peer-reviewed studies proving these treatments work or why there are no double-blind clinical trials proving chiropractic can actually cure or even treat these diseases.

The simple truth is, if chiropractic care had to undergo the same scrutiny as pharmaceuticals, the FDA would most likely have banned it years ago.

More Evidence That Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

Since Lowell is a known anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist, this article is incredibly timely and relevant.  The more studies that research this issue, the more evidence we have that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

The science is overwhelming - but since when did science matter to a conspiracy theorist?  Read on...

More Evidence That Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

MONDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Infants exposed to the highest levels of thimerosal, a mercury-laden preservative that used to be found in many vaccines, were no more likely to develop autism than infants exposed to only a little thimerosal, new research finds.

The study offers more reassurance to parents who worry that vaccination raises their children's risk for autism, the researchers said.

"Prenatal and early life exposure to ethylmercury from thimerosal in vaccines or immunoglobulin products does not increase a child's risk of developing autism," concluded senior study author Dr. Frank DeStefano, director of the immunization safety office at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study was released online Sept. 13 in advance of publication in the October print issue of Pediatrics.

Thimerosal has been used as a preservative in vaccines since the 1930s, according to background information in the article.

Concerns about the chemical began to crop up in 1999, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that because of the increased number of thimerosal-containing vaccines added to the infant vaccination schedule, infants may be exposed to too much mercury. Thimerosal used to be found in hepatitis B, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) and DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccines, among others.

During the ensuing years, the FDA worked with manufacturers to eliminate thimerosal from vaccines, according to the agency's Web site. Today, thimerosal has been removed or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated seasonal flu vaccine, according to the FDA. Parents who are concerned about thimerosal can ask for a preservative-free version, DeStefano said.

And thimerosal wasn't the only proposed autism-vaccine link. A 1998 paper in The Lancet suggested the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine might trigger autism. The journal later retracted the paper, and numerous studies have refuted any link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

In February of 2009, a U.S. federal court ruled that there was no scientific evidence linking vaccines to autism.

In the new study, researchers examined medical records and conducted interviews with the mothers of 256 children with an autism spectrum disorder and 752 children matched by birth year who did not have autism. The children were all members of three health care management organizations in California and Massachusetts.

Researchers also gathered information about the manufacture and lot number of the vaccines that the children received, to determine how much thimerosal they were likely exposed to.

Children in the highest 10 percent of thimerosal exposure, either prenatally or between infancy and 20 months, were no more likely to have autism, an autism spectrum disorder or autism spectrum disorder with regression than children in the lowest 10 percent of exposure.

"This study adds to a large body of evidence indicating that early thimerosal exposure through vaccination does not cause autism," said Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for a leading advocacy group, Autism Speaks. Dawson was not involved with the research.

She urged parents to have their children vaccinated.

"We encourage parents to have their children vaccinated and to establish a trusting relationship with their child's pediatrician so they can discuss any concerns they have," Dawson said.

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Lowell Hubbs: Self-Proclaimed Medical Genius

Never mind that Lowell Kevin Hubbs has never had even one day of post-secondary education. Never mind that Mr. Hubbs has never taken a single medical or science class. Ignore the fact he has no degrees, no specialized training, that he has never written or contributed to a scientific paper and that he has never worked in a medical, scientific, or educational capacity.

If you ask Mr. Hubbs, none of those facts matter. What really matters is that Mr. Hubbs has spent a vast amount of time researching vaccines and medical issues via the Internet. Thus, 100% of the knowledge he has gained has been via search engines, websites, and blogs. He has never spent time in a lab nor has he been faculty or even a student at a University, yet for some strange reason Mr. Hubbs feels his research has provided him with some divine knowledge that a decade of higher education or 20 years of hands-on research cannot.

Mr. Hubbs feels he knows more about the human body than "mainstream science" could ever know. He believes the AMA, CDC, FDA, and "big pharma" are all involved in some type of a scam to fool the public. He also believes Chiropractors and alternative medicine 'experts' are capable of solving practically anything wrong with the human body including such diseases as autism, and that these people are even capable of curing cancer.

I know what you are thinking. Surely I'm making this up as nobody of sound mind could possibly think a cure for cancer exists and is being held hostage by the medical community. Nobody could possibly be so ignorant as to believe hundreds of thousands of doctors, scientists, researchers, and other experts have kept such a secret from the public for decades upon decades. Surely nobody could possibly believe these things... and yet if you believe that you would be dead wrong.

Case in point, here are some direct quotes from the infamous Lowell Hubbs, and none of these have been edited in any way:

"There have been many cancer cures over the years, beleive [sic] it or not even."

"There has been success curing cancer with alternative natural supplements believe it or not."

"There was even a doctor who reserched [sic] enough to extract a substance from urine that cured cancer."

And perhaps even more comical than suggesting you can cure cancer by extracting a substance from urine, Lowell has repeatedly stated you can cure cancer with baking soda. Yes... baking soda. Although in Lowell's defense he originally and continually referred to it as "sodium bicarbonate" which admittedly does sound a tad more impressive than baking soda, but even after it was explained to him that sodium bicarbonate is in fact plain old Arm & Hammer baking soda he continued to profess its magical cancer-curing properties.

Apparently Lowell believes that there is a miracle cure right there in the back of the refrigerator and he has stated that there is a doctor (Dr. Simoncini) who has a 100% success rate curing cancer with baking soda. Not "some success" mind you. Not even "great success" but rather "100% success".

Alert the media! Notify the Nobel committee... because this Dr. Simoncini is a shoe-in to win the Nobel Prize right? I mean surely the man who has a 100% success rate curing cancer should have bridges named after him and perhaps even have a fifth face carved on Mt. Rushmore as he could quite possibly be the greatest human being on the planet.

Yet sadly (albeit obviously) Lowell nor Dr. Simoncini can't seem to support this wild theory with any evidence, but I guess we just need to take their word for it. Darn - they were so close to getting that Nobel prize!