Online Journal
Front Page 
 
 Donate
 
 Submissions
 
 Announcements
 
 NewsLinks
 
 Special Reports
 
 News Media
 
 Elections & Voting
 
 Health
 
 Religion
 
 Social Security
 
 Analysis
 
 Commentary
 
 Editors' Blog
 
 Reclaiming America
 
 The Splendid Failure of Occupation
 
 The Lighter Side
 
 Reviews
 
 The Mailbag
 
 Online Journal Stores
 Official Merchandise
 Amazon.com
 Progressive Press
 Barnes and Noble
 
 Links
 
 Join Mailing List
Search

Health Last Updated: Oct 26th, 2006 - 00:45:51


Science, medicine, and the gullible Left
By Mickey Z.
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Oct 26, 2006, 00:43

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

In a recent National Football League game, Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Chris Simms suffered a ruptured spleen. Simms was rushed to the hospital, his spleen was removed, and he is now on the road to recovery. This much talked about injury inspired Robert N. Jenkins of the St. Petersburg Times to declare that Simms, in reality, "didn't need his spleen." In an article called "Humans have body parts to spare," Jenkins went on to pronounce that we also do not need our appendix, gall bladder, tonsils, esophagus, stomach, and adrenal glands because those organs, according to conventional wisdom, are "vestigial."

I'm not here to debate what-if any-human organs are superfluous. What interests me more is the fact that most folks would read Jenkins' article and accept the premises therein without question . . . and this includes the most cynical lefties you'll ever meet. I know people skeptical enough to think the Foley sex scandal was leaked by Republicans to distract the public from the fiasco in Iraq. But tell those same people that some scientist has declared their spleen obsolete and they're not likely to rush off to post a rebuttal on their blog.

Tell them that Israel attacked Lebanon because two of its soldiers were kidnapped and they'll debunk that story in a flash. But how many of them question, say, the need for humans with a functioning immune system to get vaccinations (laden with formaldehyde, mercury, aluminum, cells from sickened animals, and genetically-altered materials, no less)? Vote counts are routinely disbelieved but nary a peep is heard about the efficacy of animal experimentation (in fact, to focus on such a topic is to invite being labeled "anti-human" by progressives). Folks who don't even think there were humans on the planes that hit the World Trade Center have no problem eating a tomato spliced with flounder genes. Of course, genetically modified foodstuffs are safe. The experts tell us so.

The most jaded, suspicious, disbelieving radicals turn timid upon entering the realm of science and medicine. They readily accept the fluoride in our water, the mercury in our teeth, the animal flesh on our plates, and the electro-magnetic radiation in our cell phones as safe. They trust that Western medicine knows best: Our infallible doctors and scientists know how to fight cancer and diabetes and heart disease, they know what causes diseases like AIDS, and when a man in a white coat writes them a prescription, they swallow both the pill and the rationale. Even the New York Times -- the propaganda organ of Corporate America -- admits "harmful reactions to medicines, usually attributed to accidental overdoses and allergic reactions, send more than 700,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year." But where are the revolutionary types coming out in support of prevention, healthier lifestyles, and alternative therapies?

Now save yourself the trouble of sending me scathing e-mails to explain why I'm "wrong" about pharmaceuticals or cell phones or any of the above. That's not the point. My very simple question is this: If the heart of being a dissident in America is to reject conventional wisdom and cast doubt on the corporate propaganda being foisted upon us at every turn, why do so many on the Left accept -- without protest -- the scientific and medical company line?

Makes me wonder if it's the brain that's vestigial.

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at www.mickeyz.net.

Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal
Email Online Journal Editor

Top of Page

Health
Latest Headlines
Science, medicine, and the gullible Left
Alaska Supreme Court rules forced drugging is unconstitutional
Nursing home fraud neglect & abuse much too common
"Those in power are poisoning children" (Mussels not flexed?)
Lawsuits multiply for Johnson & Johnson�s Charite spinal disc
Shuffling the poor to Medicare�s Plan D will net Big Pharma billions
Bush�s mental illness screening squad on the move
Regulators and researchers corrupted by Big Pharma
Part 3 of 3 parts; Off-label prescribing of prescription drugs: Pfizer embroiled in massive lawsuit over off-label use of Neurontin
Part 2 of 3 parts; Off-label prescribing of prescription drugs: Tactics Pfizer used in promoting off-label use of Neurontin
Part 1 of 3 parts; Off-label prescribing of prescription drugs: Profits for big pharma and risk to patients
Dying for Wall Street: America�s worsening healthcare travesty
Autism: Worst welfare disaster in history
Fosamax does more harm than good
Kids on ADHD drugs: A dangerous path to addiction
Legal ADHD Speed becoming drug of choice for Americans
ADHD drugs: Who said what at last month's hearings
Schools failing children with disabilities
SSRIs: Wonder drugs From Hell
Woman misdiagnosed with MS and enrolled in Tysabin clinical trial dies