Monday, May 05, 2008

Stupidity is the leading cause of stupidity among the stupid

Wonderful. All three leading candidates for the US presidency repeat the bullshit claim that vaccines can/might/do cause autism, rather than correcting the public perception which is, as has been demonstrated over and over and over, bullshit. (The preservative in question has been almost entirely phased out. Autism rates, sadly, persist in their upward climb.)

The results? Gee, lower vaccinations and increased infections among children. Way to go, American leaders. While I suppose a measeles infection is preferable to the usual hospital stay American presidents visit upon children, we'd all still be better off with fewer sick kids, right?

And to break my pledge momentarily, I'll readily concede that while none of the candidates is on the side of the angels, Hillary Clinton comes away best on this count -- pledging "funding" without outright stating a falsehood.

1 comment:

Liam said...

Possible reason why autism is increasing: Not more, just different (The Economist).
The link to the actual peer reviewed article that the economist references: Autism and diagnostic substitution: evidence from a study of adults with a history of developmental language disorder