Quack of the Day: Jenny McCarthy

Just remember... she wants to be known for her brain.

If anyone has spent more than ten minutes researching autism, they are bound to come across Jenny McCarthy during their searches.  It isn't because McCarthy is influential or educated.  It isn't because she has done research on the subject nor is it because she has contributed to the field of knowledge that surrounds autism.  Rather the reason McCarthy's name seems to go hand in hand with autism is because she is a celebrity... and as such that gives her access to people like Oprah Winfrey or Larry King, and it also allows her to get her "story" published in People magazine or various supermarket tabloids.

The reality is if McCarthy wasn't a famous Playboy Playmate or B-list actress, nobody would bother to listen, but because she is rather well known, that (for whatever reason) has convinced certain media figures that her story is worth repeating.

So what is the story she is so willing to tell?  Well essentially McCarthy claims vaccines cause autism and these same vaccines in turn harmed her son Evan.  She also claims she was able to reverse Evan's condition and "cure" his autism via a mixture of good old fashioned hard work, truckloads of love, and some miracle biomedical treatments.  Of course McCarthy has zero scientific evidence to support her theory that vaccines cause autism, and in fact when she originally published her book and started going around the country trying to convince others that she was more knowledgeable on the subject than any of the thousands of doctors and scientists who work in the field every day.... there were no less than ten different published studies that had tried to examine the supposed link between vaccines and autism and not a single one of them had ever found even so much as a casual link.

Oh well... science really isn't that important right?  Surely a former Playmate knows more about complex scientific subjects like vaccines than those who spend their entire careers studying them.  We should just accept the fact that McCarthy is right and that all of the experts are simply out of touch.

The irony in this entire situation is that Jenny McCarthy is very much anti-science, yet science is responsible for her most famous assets (her silicone enhanced chesticles).  So apparently she trusts science when it comes to such important matters as enlarging her breasts, but science goes out the door when it comes to her son.  Check.

It is probably worth noting that many experts believe that Evan was actually misdiagnosed in the first place and that he never actually had autism.  As it turns out, some of Evan's initial symptoms were tied to seizures he experienced, and after those seizures were treated his condition improved.  It has been stated that Evan's symptoms were actually more reflective of Landau-Kleffner Syndrome rather than autism and therefore any "cure" that Jenny McCarthy claims to have used has nothing to do with autism.  Other doctors have even suggested Evan had no medical condition at all and was merely developmentally delayed in comparison to his peers.

No matter what McCarthy seems to believe, it seems rather odd that her miracle cure hasn't translated so well.  We don't hear of hundreds or even thousands of autistic kids being cured, so it would seem slightly odd that her magic only happened to apply to her son and nobody else.  So aside from scaring parents away from vaccines, what else has Jenny McCarthy done with all of her anti-vaccination crusading? Go to this website to find out and read the sources...it is very interesting.

Jenny McCarthy Body Count

The basic premise is that as of the time this post was written, McCarthy has indirectly led to the deaths of 738 children which could have been prevented with proper vaccinations, and she has indirectly led to over 85,000 children contracting preventable diseases.  And in all that time what is the number of autism diagnoses scientifically linked to vaccinations???

ZERO.

Yes.... ZERO.

These are the ramifications when people ignore science, and while Jenny McCarthy could have chose to use her celebrity status to educate people about vaccinations and/or to help parents of autistic children come to grips with the diagnoses, she instead decided it was better to scare parents based upon personal opinion which has no scientific backing whatsoever.  Amazing.

More Broken Promises From Lowell Hubbs

About a month ago (October 14, 2011 7:48 PM to be specific), Lowell Hubbs left the following comment on a previous blog post:

"Watch me get bailed out next week on a million dollar bail, if you think nothings [sic] true! Keep watchin [sic] the news."  ~ Lowell Hubbs

Well, I must say I was curious, but once again it appears to have been just another broken promise from Mr. Hubbs as nothing ever came to fruition and to the best of my knowledge Mr. Hubbs has not been in the news lately.

I'm not sure what he thought was going to happen or if he was planning on a major crime spree, but perhaps even more comical than Mr. Hubbs' growing list of broken promises is the fact he somehow feels he is capable of finding the financial resources to get bailed out when the bail itself is a million bucks. Seriously? I'm pretty sure a $1,000 bond would be out of his range, so how he feels he can come up with seven figures is beyond me.

Hey maybe I'm wrong... maybe meat packing plants pay better than I thought?

Natural News: Another Website For Quacks

Recently, Mr. Hubbs thought it prudent to leave the following comment on an earlier blog post:

"[...] My site receives thousands of views per day world wide [sic]. My site pages are now even referenced to on Natural News, the second largest read alternative medicine and information website existing. Even the stupidity of your blog is referenced to on the N.N. page below. Check it out. How the medical monopoly hides inconvenient vaccine truths Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034012_vacinations_dangers.html" [...]  ~Lowell Hubbs

I had to laugh that NaturalNews couldn't even spell "vaccinations" properly in their URL (which tells us how knowledgeable on the subject matter they really are) but beyond that there are a few interesting points here.  Whether or not Mr. Hubbs cute little conspiracy theorist website gets "thousands of views" on a daily basis is doubtful... unless of course you count Mr. Hubbs own visits.  The reality of the matter is the traffic rank on Mr. Hubbs' website is 4,799,934.  To put that in perspective, the traffic rank for icanhascheezburger.com (a website primarily devoted to funny pictures of cats) is 2,711... which means there are approximately 4.8 million websites more popular that Mr. Hubbs' website, but yet less popular than random pictures of cats. 

Better yet, the ranking for cdc.gov is 3,014 which means there are only 4,796,920 websites standing between the CDC website, and Mr. Hubbs' website.  Heck even zapatopi.net (the aluminum / tinfoil hat wiki page) has a ranking of 539,607 which means there are only 4,260,327 websites less popular than tinfoil hats but yet more popular than Mr. Hubbs' website.  Yes... a website which is meant to be a joke and pokes fun at conspiracy theorists is ranked over four million pages higher than an actual conspiracy theorist.  Sort of puts things in perspective now doesn't it?  Oh and in the off chance you are curious, NaturalNews.com receives about half as many hits per month as a website devoted to photoshopped pictures of cats.  Seriously.

Not that website rankings really mean anything of course.  First you need to realize that search engines can (and often do) skew rankings do to how they catalog specific pages and how the automated bots perform searches.  Second, even if a website is "popular" it doesn't mean it is being visited by unique people.  It can be a handful of people (or bots) who cycle the page hundreds of times a day.  Third, popularity doesn't equal influence.  Websites that are controversial (or dare I say it)... even ignorant and silly tend to get hits out of morbid curiosity.  That doesn't mean they are influential.  One has to keep in mind the website devoted to two girls and one cup received millions upon million upon millions of hits... that doesn't mean people are going to repeat that practice at home.  (If you don't know what 2Girls1Cup is... be warned you do NOT want to google it and find out).

Hell even that stupid Rebecca Black "Friday" song received more than 175 Million hits.  Yes... over one hundred and seventy five MILLION views of that one single YouTube video.  Yet that video is well known to have exponentially more "dislikes" than "likes" which tells us one thing: Popularity does not equal agreement, (in fact even suggesting there is a link is a common appeal to popularity logical fallacy) and sometimes when something is popular it is merely because people are curious what all the fuss is about.

So, beyond the actual popularity (or lack thereof) what is the point of Mr. Hubbs?  He seems to be proud of himself that his website was linked in an article which is posted to NaturalNews.com... but is that anything to actually be proud of?

Truth be told ANYONE can write an article and have it posted to NaturalNews.com by filling out a simple form.  NaturalNews is a pseudoscience aggregating site and provided the article is written with an anti-science and pro-alternative medicine slant, it will most certainly be published.  There is no requirement that articles be fully sourced nor are there are any requirements the author even be a journalist.  Heck, NaturalNews even admits they don't provide editing services so the authors are pretty much on their own.  Mr. Hubbs himself can actually write and submit articles to them and they may even be published (assuming Mr. Hubbs can perform a basic spelling and grammar check before submission which could be his downfall).  There is no check of credentials, no verification of identify, and no attempt to determine conflict of interest.  The only requirement is that the author has a Google adsense account so they can collect ad revenue.  Red flag number one.

Is this how a reputable "news" website operates?  No.  Is this how a website operates when they are only concerned over aggregating biased materials in order to drive traffic to their website and in turn sell all types of advertisements, nutritional supplements, books, newsletters, gadgets and other alternative medicine swag?  You bet.  Red flag number two.

Did I mention that NaturalNews.com is NOT recognized as a non-profit in the US?  You read that right... they can claim to be non-profit all day long, but legally speaking they are not and the IRS does not recognize them as non-profit.  They can (and likely do) make millions from the sales of various supplements and gadgets most of which have never undergone any testing to prove efficacy.  This is part of the explanation for the disclaimers found throughout their website which remind you their products are "not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease".  Red flag number three.

So this brings us to the actual article that Mr. Hubbs cited.  I'd love to tell you a bit about the author, but "PF Louis" doesn't provide us with any background information about him or her.  In fact there is no byline information and nothing can be found on the NaturalNews website telling us about this particular author.  Red flag number four.

So aside from the 25-30 graphic advertisements shown in and around this article and ignoring the numerous unrelated links trying to get you to visit other quack websites (which in turn drives ad revenue based upon click-through rates) the article itself really doesn't contain any actual reporting.  It starts off by repeating a couple of quotes taken out of context, and inserts some opinions... but where is the actual reporting?

Of course what vaccine conspiracy article would be complete without an accusation that the CIA is helping "Big Pharma" control the media?  For good measure, Louis goes on to speak about the Rockefeller conspiracy (something Mr. Hubbs has been known to jabber on about quite often), and then Louis goes on to mention the Wakefield incident.... conveniently ignoring the fact that Wakefield was found guilty of fraud or that he fabricated patient records as well as glossing over the fact that Wakefield had a vested financial interest tied to the idea that vaccines can be harmful.  Oh how soon we forget... or in this case - ignore.

All of the above is interesting of course, albeit predictable considering we have seen this same pattern of grouping together various conspiracy theories, accusations, and opinions and presenting them as "journalism", but Louis is just getting warmed up.  Louis uses the last few paragraphs of this 'article' to bring up Andrew Moulden.  Note that Louis doesn't say "Dr. Moulden", but instead references him as "Canadian medical scientist Andrew Moulden, PhD".  Could that be because Moulden has no license to practice medicine?  Could it be because Moulden has no actual expertise in the fields of study surrounding vaccines or autism?  Or could it be because the terms "medical scientist" seem harmless enough to cover the work of someone that has never had a single one of this theories proven or even published in a peer-reviewed journal of any type?

I can't really say, but this is where Louis lack of credibility really shines.  He doesn't cite Moulden's work to validate his theories.  He doesn't cite scientific research nor does he reference the work of others to validate any of Moulden's views.  Instead, Louis claims that any doubt about Moulden's work shall be cast aside because (are you ready for this?) Moulden was listed as a "Quack of the Day" on this very blog.

Yes... you read that correctly.

This is what is so amazingly comical about so many of these alternative medicine bloggers and self-proclaimed "citizen journalists".  They don't even understand the basic premise of journalistic integrity and instead they spout off opinion that they don't even attempt to support with evidence.  Louis actually believes because I wrote a blog post about Andrew Moulden, that it somehow means Moulden must be credible.  I know... I can't exactly wrap my head around that type of logic either and it is nothing more than a guilt by association logical fallacy, but I'm flattered that my blog seems to be so darn influential within the NaturalNews community that I'm single handedly able to sway opinions.

Of course Louis couldn't be bothered to link to the blog posts of mine which he cites because that would be objective journalism, and not only is Louis incapable of journalism... it is obvious he/she is incapable of remaining objective as well.  Instead, the search of my site lead Louis to Mr. Hubbs, and it was a match made in heaven.  So I suppose if you are actually honest about the situation you would agree that if anything Mr. Hubbs should be thanking me for allowing him the recognition he so desperately was seeking, because without this humble little blog, Louis would never have found Mr. Hubbs silly website. 

Am I the only one who sees the irony here? 

I should thank good old PF though.  I noticed a spike in my blog traffic a bit over a week ago all based upon common search terms (various versions of "Andrew Moulden" and "Quack" etc) and I honestly had no idea what was causing it until Mr. Hubbs was so kind as to show me this "article".  So kudos to you PF... you not only directed a few of your fellow vaccine conspiracy theorists to Mr. Hubbs website, but you diverted a few of them my direction as well.  Of course more importantly, PF has shown the true colors of NaturalNews and how don't appear to care about facts or the quality of their content... only the quantity.

Louis Pasteur: Driven By Purpose Rather Than Profit

Mr. Hubbs is the type of person who believes anyone who is associated with vaccines is somehow evil and they are all merely driven by profits rather than purpose. I have shown in the past how this logic is fatally flawed, but obviously a vaccine conspiracy theorist like Mr. Hubbs is not easily convinced.

The reality is, most of the great vaccine discoveries throughout history came not from the desire to profit, but from the desire to improve the human condition and from the desire to make the world a better and safer place for us all. I have previously discussed how Jonas Salk released his polio vaccine to the public without first seeking to patent it or profit from it because he was drive by purpose, but Salk isn’t the only one.

Louis Pasteur's work was driven by such a purpose as well. Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who is probably best known for the process of pasteurization, and he is often referred to as the “father” of germ theory. He was one of the first people to suggest to doctors that they bother to sterilize their instruments and actually wash their hands before and after performing surgery on patients which directly led to a significant decrease in the amount of surgery-related infections. (Don’t bother explaining this concept to Mr. Hubbs however as he doesn’t believe in the germ theory and therefore thinks it is just all a big coincidence).

That said, Pasteur’s discoveries didn’t stop with germ theory or pasteurization and he worked tirelessly on a number of different vaccines. At one point he was developing a vaccine for rabies as the disease was responsible for killing thousands of people each year. He had tested his vaccine on rabbits, and was prepared to test it upon himself just as a nine year old boy named Joseph Meister was attacked by a rabid dog.

Meister’s mother pleaded with Pasteur to test the vaccine on her son and although Pasteur himself was not a licensed physician at the time, he put his personal reputation and career at risk in order to attempt to save Joseph’s life. Thankfully, Joseph’s inoculation against rabies was successful and he never contracted the disease, and thus a functional rabies vaccine was officially discovered.

This foundation laid the groundwork for other work on vaccines, and Pasteur himself became known as nothing short of a hero due to his work. Decades later, Pasteur was asked what he would like to be etched upon his tombstone… and as legend has it he asked for only three words: “Joseph Meister Lived!”.

To think a man who helped shape the future of vaccine science, the man known as the father of germ theory, and the man who has been known for numerous discoveries that have saved countless lives was never concerned with his reputation… but rather when he had to boil it all down the only thing he cared about was saving this one young boy.

Does that sound like someone who is only concerned with profit, or does it sound like someone who was driven by purpose? The answer seems clear, and that thought process is not unique to only Pasteur. In fact right this very moment in time there are thousands upon thousands of doctors and scientists and researchers toiling away in their labs and offices and hospitals and clinics and even homes in search of the next big discovery that will make its mark on mankind.

Are we really to believe that all of these people are only concerned with wealth and profit? Are we really to believe there is some vast conspiracy at play which actually results in more people getting sick just so a few select companies can sell some medications or vaccines? I suppose there are differing theories on the subject, but to suggest that tens of thousands of doctors and researchers are all involved in some massive manipulation of the scientific process is nothing short of a conspiracy theory… so is it really any wonder why Mr. Hubbs has earned the label of “vaccine conspiracy theorist”?

Yea… I didn’t think so either.

More Accusations of Hacking

We have discussed Lowell Hubbs' propensity to cry wolf and accuse "black hat hackers" of manipulating his computer or websites in the past even though he never seems to have any evidence to support his claims, but here is yet another example of the nonsense that come from the mind of Mr. Hubbs:

"Here is how bad they want to shut my information shut down. 9:30 pm 3-2 My computer I was working on at the time, went blank screen, lost all the tabs; and reverted back to the administrative log in screen; access blocked. Guess where the IP address was traced back to? Gannet Broadcasting/ The Argus Leader. They even hacked my earlier email account and sent all my personal emails to FEMA, and the FBI; attempting to get me shut down for spamming the gov't." ~ Lowell Hubbs

So yea... when Lowell Hubbs has problems with his computer, he automatically blames it upon mystery "hackers" and even goes so far as to claim a local newspaper is to blame.

Sure thing Lowell - that makes perfect sense.  So a large publishing company with hundreds of employees is taking the time to personally reach out and fiddle with your computer while still allowing you - a man with very little technical knowledge and even less common sense - to identify their IP address.  This is the same large publishing company which has been known to actually print several of your letters to the editor, and the same large publishing company which has allowed you to not only post on their forums, but has allowed you to post under multiple usernames hundreds upon hundreds of times even going so far as to post under multiple names defending yourself as you pretend to be different people.

Yea... that is surely more likely that lets say... you just being a paranoid conspiracy theorist with a persecution complex who just happens to have problems with his computer from time to time.

Funny how even after months and months of Mr. Hubbs claiming to have all of this proof of people hacking him and after months and months of him making accusations about illegal activity ranging from stalking to harassing to illegal wiretaps, fraud, sexual misconduct, and even homicide/murder... Mr. Hubbs has never shown us any evidence that any of these crimes have ever actually been committed.  No police reports, no evidence that anyone has ever been arrested or charged with a crime, no follow-up to support his claims that he has evidence, or corroboration to his claims that government agencies like the FBI are investigating or that his "people" or "lawyers" have taken action.

Just more conspiracy theories and bold faced lies.  I wish I could say I expected more, but sadly this is just par for the course for Lowell Hubbs.

Lowell Hubbs: Quote of the Day

Every now and then, one of the comments Mr. Hubbs sends in is actually entertaining.  Most are filled with nonsense and chalk full of ramblings of a madman, but every now and then he says something which really makes you stop and think.  This is one of those times...

"Whats the problem Costner, you can read English. Do you not understand the most basic of common sense?"  ~Lowell Hubbs

I honestly don't even know what to say to this.  I guess I could just admit that yes... I can actually read English, but apparently Mr. Hubbs isn't much good with writing it.

Common sense?  Yea... not one of Mr. Hubbs' strong suits.  Yet he is the type of person who considers himself an expert on vaccines and science.  I guess that's one way to go.  Granted even if I overlook the errors in grammar to get down to the point which I believe Mr. Hubbs is trying to make, it still doesn't change anything.

The problem with Mr. Hubbs' logic is that "common sense" does not dictate fact nor does it influence scientific discovery.  Anecdotal evidence is just that... anecdotal.  For example if someone sees a child start developing symptoms of a learning disorder or sees them have a seizure, they may think it was because that child was given a vaccine a few weeks or months earlier because in their mind there were no other possible causes.  However that requires them to ignore million of other environmental and genetic causes.

I can understand how vaccines get the blame over something like genetics.  After all - parents don't want to think it could be their very own genes that led to a medical condition in their child.  Because of this, they look everywhere else around them in an effort to place blame elsewhere and if that just so happens to fall upon vaccines that makes them feel better.

The problem is, there is no science to support these viewpoints.  Not only are cases of autism or other medical conditions nearly identical in unvaccinated populations, but there is not a single piece of peer-reviewed science published anywhere nor is there a single study which has ever reached the conclusion that vaccines cause autism. 

Perhaps even more telling is that there has never been any peer-reviewed or reputable science that even suggested vaccines cause autism.  Ever.  Mr. Hubbs knows this, his fellow anti-vaccination friends know this, and the legitimate medical community knows this, which is why antivaxxers continue to try to move the goal posts and shift the debate time and time again as they attempt to ignore the fact their opinions have never been verified, validated, or even found to have any merit whatsoever.

So why are all of these parents so convinced that vaccines cause autism, and why are vaccine conspiracy theorists so sure that vaccines are harmful?  Well a lot of it boils down to them being ignorant to the scientific method, but much of it also happens to be due to them relying upon anecdotal evidence.  Since many cases of autism seem to be diagnosed during the ages of two and three, and because that time frame also seems to coincide with when parents are giving their children vaccines they (for whatever reason) feel vaccines are to blame.

They don't care they science doesn't support their viewpoint.  They don't care about the mounting evidence that reflects a strong genetic component to autism.  They don't care that they can't prove their theory or that unvaccinated children can still get autism.  They don't care about any of these things because they will tell you "they just know" vaccines are responsible, and no amount of science or research is going to be enough to convince them otherwise because their conclusions are based upon (you guessed it) "common sense".

Unfortunately for Mr. Hubbs and other vaccine conspiracy theorists like him, scientific fact has never been, and will never be determined by what one person believes is "common sense".  Instead, scientific theories are tested and replicated.  Hypothesis are validated or challenged.  Research is verified and reproduced.

This is why the anti-vaccination crowd will never be successful and why they will never be taken seriously, because instead of them wishing to find the truth they would much rather dabble in what they perceive as "common sense".  The ironic part is that anti-vaxxers don't seem to have any common sense... yet they put an enourmous amount of faith in it while ignoring everything else.

Vaccine Ingredients: What You Should Know

Most vaccination conspiracy theorists have a habit of tossing out random statements to try and paint vaccines as harmful, even when it is blatantly obvious they have no idea what they are talking about and Lowell Hubbs is no exception.  They make statements about aluminum being in vaccines and how harmful it must be or they rail on against formaldehyde being found in vaccines (even in trace amounts).  In the past, they have gone out of their way to blame mercury for various neurological disorders up and and including autism although now that mercury has been pulled out of all childhood vaccines and even though the rates of autism have remained unchanged... they have suddenly swept that little gem under the rug as they shifted focus elsewhere.

Throughout all of these discussions, one point kept rising to the surface about all of the ingredients that anti-vaxxers complain about, and that is the fact that they don't appear to know what these ingredients actually do or why they are found in vaccines.  Instead, they simply read on one of their many anti-vaxxer websites that these ingredients are harmful, and the nonsense began to take hold.  They never actually bother to research the ingredients to determine why they are included or what function they hold.  They never even bother to determine at what quantities they can be found or how much of these ingredients are already found in the human body even before a single vaccine is administered.

Admittedly, telling someone you are going to inject them with aluminum or formaldehyde seems like a bad idea at face value, but once you know the facts about these ingredients it is an entirely different story.  In fact, most people may not even understand that the human body already contains chemicals such as formaldehyde even if that person has never had a vaccination in their life.  Also, vaccine conspiracy theorists try to suggest aluminum may be responsible for all types of neurological disorders or other medical issues, yet they have zero evidence to support that viewpoint.  I chalk these views up to simple ignorance about what aluminum really is and how the body reacts to it, but in the mind of a vaccine conspiracy theorist any form of metal has no reason to exist in the human body apparently.

I can only assume that vaccine conspiracy theorists conveniently ignore that the human body includes trace amounts of various metals and in fact relies upon these elements for proper function.  Take zinc for example.  Zinc is used for protein synthesis, it contributes to would healing, it contributes to a strong immune system, it has been found to help with memory, and even contributes to skeletal growth.  Then you have iron which is required for the production of hemoglobin and myoglobin. 

Next you have copper.  Copper is required to help regulate blood pressure and helps with nerve function.  Chromium enhances the action of insulin as well as assists with carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism.  Magnesium helps maintain a strong immune system, helps maintain muscle and nerve function, and contributes to energy metabolism and protein synthesis.

As you can clearly see, the human body contains a various amount of metals and numerous other trace minerals.  In fact, the human body already contains trace amounts of aluminum, mercury, and even lead.  They key point here is that it is important to know and understand what levels are acceptable, and what levels could result in toxicity.  Any mineral including those mentioned here can be harmful to the human body if they are found in excessive quantities.  Obviously we all know iron is essential for many bodily functions, but if someone has excessive amounts of iron in their blood it can result in numerous side effects including weight loss, shortness of breath, nausea, and fatigue. 

The phrase "all good things in moderation" comes to mind here.  Given in proper amounts, most minerals will not be harmful to humans, but obviously if excessive amounts are ingested there can and will be side effects.

Because of the common misunderstanding of what various vaccine ingredients are capable of, it seems some education is in order - and the following PDF file from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center does a fabulous job of explaining some of the basics in layman's terms that even the most prolific anti-vaxxer should be able to understand.

Of course the PDF also includes references for those who are interested in learning even more about the science behind vaccines and although most anti-vaxxers tend to ignore anything which requires independent research, some others might find those articles interesting as well.  It is a good read, and something everyone who has any interest in vaccine ingredients should take the time to review.

Vaccine Ingredients: What you should know

A Typical Day in the Life of a Vaccine Conspiracy Theorist

Mr. Hubbs apparently loves this blog.  In fact he not only loves it, but he finds it so incredibly fascinating that he just can't seem to get enough of it and he stands by patiently awaiting yet another new blog post.  How do I know this you might ask?  Well... it might have something to do with how much time he spends here on a daily basis.

Take September 27th for example.  Here is a breakdown of the comments he left here on that one day alone:

12:11AM - Mr. Hubbs makes some statements about sugar consumption in North Carolina causing Polio.  Color me surprised he can't support his claims with legitimate science.  He also tosses in a few colorful insults and profanity for good measure and then wonders why I don't publish his comments.  Amazing.

12:39AM - Mr. Hubbs performs a link dump which as far as I can tell has nothing to do with the blog post he attempted to comment on.  Again he wonders why I don't publish his 1000 word comments when 998 words of them are copied and pasted from his website and contain no less than a dozen links to various quack websites which don't relate to the actual discussion.

1:31PM - After a brief absence, Mr. Hubbs posts some nonsense about HPV DNA in a vaccine.  Information which was thoroughly debunked.  This obviously pissed Mr. Hubbs off.

2:49PM - Hubbs misunderstands the concept of burden of proof, and because he now is starting to understand he cannot possibly prove his points with science, he has instead decided that I should disprove everything he has ever said.

Does anyone wonder why nobody gives vaccine conspiracy theorists and credibility when they can't even engage in a simple debate without resorting to the old "I'm right until you prove me wrong" garbage?  Yea... me neither.

3:30PM - Hubbs decides since he can't prove anything, a better tactic is to ask me a list of 15 or 20 questions which once again is an attempt to control the discussion and hide the fact he can't support his viewpoints with science.  Once again he has failed, and I'm not about to humor him because there is no use debating a conspiracy theorist.

3:50PM - Hubbs goes on the offensive yet again.  This time he devotes a 500 word comment to Dr. Gorski and then starts asking me about my background and education.  Classic deflection and attempt to dominate the conversation.

4:22PM - Hubbs is now asking me to provide studies that prove there isn't a link between Gardasil and (insert whatever medical condition you can think of here).  Based upon Mr. Hubbs continual misunderstanding of how this whole "burden of proof" concept works, I'll just tell him that I have a trillion dollars worth of Oreos in my basement and it is his duty to prove me wrong.  Hilarity forthcoming.

5:01PM - Hubbs starts off complaining about drug companies and patents and then starts drifting all over.  The comment was long enough I had to scroll my screen just to see it all so I'll admit even I don't have the patience to get through all of his incoherent nonsense.  Nothing of value was in the first 250 words... I doubt anything of value was in the next 500 either.

5:02PM - Hubbs copies and pastes the same exact comment as above (or at least it appears to be the same based upon the first few sentences).  I guess he feels that the more words he spams me with, the more likely it is that I will publish some of them.  He is wrong... again.

5:04PM - Hubbs claims because I am not debating him that I lose.  So nice of him to attempt to keep score. I guess because he says it... it must be true right?  Oh wait - that isn't how it works.  Granted if Mr. Hubbs really did feel he was "winning" he wouldn't feel the need to spend hours on this blog, but lets not let pesky facts get in the way of anything.

7:59PM - Hubbs claims he has submitted the "studies I requested" but I have yet to see a single peer-reviewed study that has ever supported his primary claims that A) Vaccines cause autism, B) Vaccinated children are less healthy than non-vaccinated children, C) The Gardasil vaccine is responsible for harming or even killing women or D) that reducing sugar consumption can help prevent polio.

He then starts rambling on about my identity and how there was a $5000 price paid to "mess him up" and get him to shut down his site (apparently he is blaming me for this).  Aside from the fact that Mr. Hubbs isn't worth $5 much less $5000, and aside from the fact this is yet another example of Mr. Hubbs' magical persecution complex and paranoia, the reality is he has made these claims dozens of times yet never seems to be able to provide any evidence.  Big shocker there.

Oh yea... and Mr. Hubbs so eloquently says F___ You (you can fill in the blanks), and then adds a few links to YouTube (although I never visit any of the links he sends, I'm assuming it makes him feel better).

8:49PM - Hubbs accuses me of needing psychological treatment.  Keep in mind this is the guy who so far in this one day has submitted a dozen comments over a period of 20 hours!  Wow... obsessed much?

10:09PM - Hubbs once again directs his attention towards Dr. Gorski even going so far as to claim he sold his soul to the devil (something he has accused me of numerous times as well).  He also claims the "pharma industry" pays Dr. Gorski to be dishonest.  So do you think Mr. Hubbs can provide any evidence to support that little gem?  Of course not.

10:49PM - Hubbs once again is complaining that I haven't provided evidence to disprove his theories (yawn) and then he adds something about the differences between Becamp and Pasteur.... which pretty much tells me he read an article somewhere on one of his alternative medicine themed websites and is now convinced he knows some deep dark mystical secret that hundreds of thousands of doctors, scientist, and researchers have all overlooked.  Yep - that sounds about right.

11:56PM - Almost a full 24 hours after submitting his first comment of the day, Mr. Hubbs sends in the final comment of the day.  Much like the previous 14 comments he has left, this one isn't a whole lot different.  This time Mr. Hubbs decides to provide me with some links to his personal blogs and websites.  I've explained that I never visit his website or blogs, but that doesn't stop him from sending me links several times a week.  I guess he is a slow learner.

The content of Mr. Hubbs' messages really isn't all that important of course (it never is), but the fact that he literally spends hours visiting this site and replying to the blog posts here is somewhat disturbing.  The fact that the guy has a day off of work and decides to spend his time visiting this blog over and over and over at all times of day and night is just sad and pathetic.  The reality is, Mr. Hubbs spends more time on this blog than I spend writing these occasional blog posts - which begs the question why he feels the need to focus so much energy one one blog?

Have I hurt Mr. Hubbs' feelings to the level he feels he needs to spend every waking moment here to defend himself and his bruised ego?  Is he really so upset that I have made him play the part of an ignorant fool month after month?  Is he upset that I have shown the world who he really is via his own words and actions?

I guess I really don't know what goes on in the mind of Mr. Hubbs, but what I do know is he has proven time and time again that not only is he scientifically illiterate, but he is obviously suffering some significant mental issues as well, because no normal person would put quite so much energy into making themselves look like an idiot hour after hour, day after day.

The good news is that at least his new hobby keeps him out of the bars and away from a motor vehicle.  Because we all know how that has ended in the past.  Unfortunately, I really don't have the patience to read all of his comments on a daily basis which is why the vast majority end up in the spam folder.  I just read through most of them today to make a point... but I'm not about to do that every day because 90% of Mr. Hubbs' comments are just the same old regurgitated nonsense time and time again.  If I filter out the profanity, the links to his personal websites, the links to his fellow anti-vaxxer websites, the comments have that no relation to the actual blog post, the comments which ask me to "disprove" him, the comments he attempts to post under different usernames, or the comments where he claims to be winning the "debate" about vaccines... well there really isn't anything left to publish.

Is there really any wonder why I have once again banned him from commenting?

HPV DNA in Gardasil: The Wild and Unsubstantiated Claims of the Intellectually Challenged

Quoth the anti-vaccine group SANE Vax: Beware HPV DNA in Gardasil!

Recently Mr. Hubbs has felt the need to jump on yet another anti-vaccine bandwagon after reading some random article on one of his many favorite anti-vaccination websites. Unfortunately for Mr. Hubbs, he has fallen into the same old trap of not actually understanding what he is reading before jumping to conclusions (or rather before allowing the authors of the articles he is reading to jump to conclusions at which point he merely accepts what they have written at face value because he lacks the scientific understanding to question them).

So it was no surprise that Mr. Hubbs would start adding comments to this blog about how some random antivaxxer website commissioned some research and found HPV DNA in the Gardasil vaccine. In fact, when I read about this "story" several weeks ago, I predicted that Mr. Hubbs would be jumping on this bandwagon... and he has failed to disappoint.

Now I could go into great detail to explain how these claims are unsupported or how the science hasn't even been validated. I could also go into detail about how the methodology used to "find" this DNA hasn't even been made public or how the results have not been replicated by any other reputable (or even non-reputable) agency. I could even go into great detail explaining how Sane Vax relied upon polymerase chain reaction to produce their results which effectively amplifies a single piece of DNA to levels it could actually be measurable... in fact it can be used to manipulate results if a scientist so desires at which points the results themselves are at best suspect, and at worse nothing short of fraudulent.

The thing is, I really don't need to go into great detail about any of these things, because Dr. David Gorski over at Science-Based Medicine already has.  I should warn Mr. Hubbs however that Dr. Gorski goes into great detail to explain the flaws in Sane Vax's methodology and he incorporates detailed explanations using technical terms and references to scientific processes... so it is clear Mr. Hubbs won't understand at least 80% of what he reads.

In any case there are a few key points to take from this.  As the SBM post states:

"First of all, one notes that there is not a single scientific paper–or even scientific report–describing the methodology used and the specific tests used."

If a researcher isn't willing to disclose even the most basic information which would allow others to replicate his or her results they are either trying to hide something (fraud) or they know there are gaping holes in said methodology (still fraud).

Sane Vax tries to blame this on "proprietary" processes, but you don't need proprietary processes to detect DNA contamination!  In fact, using anything other than industry approved methods calls the results into question, which is most likely why Sane Vax doesn't want to reveal their methodology.

SMB Continues:

"Worse, in the SANE Vax letter to the FDA, SANE Vax demands assurances that the FDA will protect Dr. Lee’s proprietary methodology before it will provide the FDA with its results. The hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty are staggering. More importantly, without SANE Vax’s alleged results being available to the FDA and independent scientists to examine, all we have to support the claim that there is recombinant DNA in the HPV vaccine is the word of an anti-vaccine group."

That paragraph pretty much sums up the game that Sane Vax is trying to play here.  They can put out a fancy press release and they can filter their idiocy across the land of anti-vaxxer websites, but in the end none of the results have been replicated or validated.  In fact, Sane Vax won't even provide the results to the FDA... which once again proves they have something to hide.  If they honestly felt there was something within the Gardasil vaccine that was harmful, don't you think they would be willing to provide their data to the FDA immediately?

I haven't smelled anything this fishy since I was in the Fulton Fish Market.  Unfortunately, we already know that these gaping holes are simply ignored by antivaxxers like Mr. Hubbs because once again they turn a blind eye to science when they feel it benefits their case.  Yet again antivaxxers push forth statements without complete understanding of what they mean, and once again they invent more and more excuses on why this data is valid even before a single result has been verified.

The ignorance of the antivaxxer community is astounding, but the intellectual dishonesty is downright disgusting.  That is never more evident than it is when Lowell Hubbs decides to comment on a "new development" as we have here.  To think this man feels he is some type of an expert when he doesn't even understand the most basic scientific processes is downright comical. 

Unfortunately, his ignorance and ineptitude are anything but a laughing matter, because unsubstantiated statements such as those Mr. Hubbs has made recently can be downright dangerous.

Lowell Hubbs: Quote of the Day

There are some days that Lowell Hubbs seems to be operating at almost a normal level of intelligence, and then there are other days when he says something and totally redeems himself as the most ignorant man in his zip code.  Based upon the following quote, I'd say we are looking at the latter rather than the former:

"In fact if you eliminate sugar and supplement adequate levels of vitamin D, there is no virus you can not beat”  ~Lowell Hubbs

This is a prime example of the level of ignorance displayed by Mr. Hubbs during most of his waking hours. He claims simply by cutting sugar and taking sufficient levels of Vitamin D, you can "beat" any known virus. Notice he didn't even bother to say almost no virus, but rather he emphatically says "there is no virus you can not beat"

That is interesting of course, but lets look at a few nasty viruses and see if this magical cure holds water.

What about Yellow Fever?  It is a virus still found in parts of Africa, and it kills approximately 30,000 people a year.  This is no known cure, although a vaccination is available and has saved countless lives.  Since Mr. Hubbs is obviously against any and all vaccinations, apparently he feels those silly Africans are just dying by the tens of thousands due to a lack of vitamin D.

So how about Rabies?  It too is a virus, and it kills over 50,000 people each year.  It can lead to a variety of symptoms up to an including death.  There is a vaccine available, and if someone is treated within a few days of contracting the virus, they are generally able to make a full recovery.  Obviously if you follow the medical advice of Mr. Hubbs, you should be able to slash sugar intake and take vitamin D supplements so the next time a rabid skunk bites you on the hand... you don't even have to worry because you're protected.  Or something.

So what about Measles?  Again it is a virus, and it kills almost 200,000 worldwide each year mostly in areas that lack vaccination programs.  Even though it is generally not fatal, the sheer number of people who are infected each year is staggering, and since many of these people will suffer from other medical conditions such as pneumonia or myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle), it can result in the virus being fatal.  No need to vaccinate the populace against it however, because according to Mr. Hubbs all you need is a bit of Vitamin D.

Odd that vitamin D production can be triggered by the sun, and yet those people who are most often exposed to sunlight (those in desert climates in West Africa etc) are those who are also at the highest risk for contracting many of these viruses.  Could it have something to do with lack of vaccination programs?  Nah... it must be too much sugar in their diets.  I guess a steady diet of rice, wheat, and corn is just packed with sugar... instead of dropping bags of rice into areas suffering from famine, we must be dropping bags of Rice Krispies.  Sure thing.

There are many other viruses of course.  Everything from Hepatitis to the common cold.  There are various strains of Influenza, Rotavirus, and probably the one virus guilty of causing more death than any others... the HIV virus.

Just think if all of the people who have contracted these viruses would just take some vitamin D supplements they would be fine.  Those pesky scientists who are working to develop new vaccines and treatments are just wasting their time.  The doctors who prescribe treatments are just being foolish.  The governments who do everything in their power to prevent pandemics as they push vaccination programs are just clueless.

Yes... according to the genius medical mind of Lowell Hubbs, all you need to do is cut sugar, and add vitamin D.  Once again Mr. Hubbs has shown us he is worthy of a Nobel Prize, but because his ideas would destroy the profits of the healthcare industry, his brilliance will once again be overlooked.

It goes without saying that I'm laying the sarcasm on a bit thick here, but this is yet another example of how Mr. Hubbs says things without bothering to even think about them.  I have no doubt he read somewhere that vitamin D can help fight off viruses, but it as probably something to the effect of it helping to reduce the chances of contracting a cold and/or shortening the time a person will suffer from a cold.  Rather than reading and fully comprehending whatever it was that he read, Mr. Hubbs just made up his own version of the story and it leads him to make these ridiculous statements time and time again.

Now I would ask Mr. Hubbs to provide some type of peer-reviewed scientific study about his vitamin D theory, but we all know how well such a request has worked in the past, so I'm not going to bother.  Aside from the fact that I know he would dodge the issue and never actually provide such a study, I really don't feel the need to be bombarded with another dozen or two comments full of random nonsensical messages, profanity, and a laundry list of links to various alternative medicine websites, blogs, forums, or conspiracy theory strongholds.