It's NOT a "fact of life"

Not one

 

Strip the NRA of its tax-exempt status

Just print out this form, sign it and e-mail it to eoclass@irs.gov

Colin Powell nails it

Get your Goop

In Outrage Over Its Bunk Science, Goop Finds Fuel for Growth
By Michael Schulson

Note that this product was once made
in Providence (Wikipedia)

For years, experts have said that Goop, the wellness and lifestyle brand founded by the actor and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow, markets pseudoscience and overblown cures. And for years, despite the criticism, Goop has just kept growing.

Now the company, which was valued at $250 million in 2018, seems poised to reach an even larger audience.

Last week, Goop announced details of three new ventures: a distribution partnership with the cosmetics giant Sephora; a “wellness experience at sea” with Celebrity Cruises; and — to the chagrin of many science advocates — a six-part series on Netflix, the streaming service with more than 150 million subscribers.

The Netflix show, set to debut later this month, will feature Paltrow and colleagues exploring a range of alternative healing practices, including energy healing, exorcism, and sessions with psychic mediums.

“What we try to do at Goop is to explore ideas that may seem out there, or too scary,” Elise Loehnen, the company's chief content officer, explains in the series trailer, which also boasts that the show will feature risky and unregulated treatments.

“We’re here one time, one life," Paltrow exudes in the trailer, reflecting her signature embrace-new-ideas attitude. "How can we really milk the shit out of this?”

The backlash was immediate. On Twitter, many doctors and scientists questioned why Netflix would partner with Goop. Some upset Netflix customers announced that they had cancelled their subscriptions.

“I’m frustrated that Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop and their pseudoscientific empire is being given a platform,” Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health law and science policy at the University of Alberta in Canada and a longtime Goop critic, told Undark.

Medical disinformation can have serious consequences, and it can spread quickly online. But Goop’s continued success raises question about how experts should effectively respond to questionable information — and about what it is, exactly, that Goop is selling to its many fans.

It’s not just the NFL that has a domestic violence problem, we all do

Dr. Jen Gunter

by Dr. Jen Gunter

If I were punched by an unknown man in an elevator there would be little doubt that my assailant would be prosecuted. If the trauma were enough to cause me to lose consciousness, meaning I suffered brain trauma, my attacker would likely be charged with aggravated assault. No one would be surprised if he received jail time. No one would think twice if he lost his job. However, if I were knocked unconscious by my husband or sexual partner it would not be unusual for my attacker to get a diversion, that is if he were charged at all.

This tragic reality of domestic violence has been on graphic public display with the Ray Rice case. Even though Rice’s victim, Janay Palmer who was then his girlfriend and now wife, lost consciousness from being beaten both she and Rice were charged with simple assault.

Ms. Rice has been treated cruelly by many, stated this is a private matter, and understandably feels victimized by the attention. Take away the publicity and this could be any domestic violence case.

That domestic violence is treated differently by the courts and the public from assault not perpetrated by a current or former sexual partner should shame every one of us. From neighbors who don’t call the police when late night pleading and screams drift from next door, to friends and co-workers who never ask about bruises, to buddies who don’t speak up when a man calls his partner “stupid” in public and are oblivious to her cringes, to police who just calm everyone down instead of making arrests,

Read the rest of this thoughtful article on Dr. Jen Gunter's blog.

Why should anti-choice politicians focus on Roe...

...when the states are such easy pickings?

Dr. Jen Gunter

We occasionally feature one of the well-written articles by doctor and blogger Jen Gunter. You can visit her blog here.  This article is a follow-up to one we featured last week. Here is an excerpt:

Pregnant women with serious medical conditions may find themselves in an even greater bind as anti-choice laws have increasingly targeted state hospitals (see recent events in Kansas and Arizona). Why single out state hospitals for anti-choice legislation? Well, reducing/eliminating abortions at state hospitals affects education as these hospitals are typically teaching facilities, so with little to no access to abortion training these politicians hope the number of providers in the state will dwindle over time. They like to tell their constituents, “This is part of our message, that abortion providers are not welcome here.” As these lawmakers are largely motivated by anti-choice vocalizations and chest thumping, I think the easy pickings of anti-choice legislation against a state facility is the prime motivation. It’s a chip shot in a GOP controlled state and often neglected in the news because it’s buried in a state budget, so not a direct challenge to Roe. Oh, and I bet this kind of legislation helps to loosen campaign dollars.

Read the entire article here.

Thoughts on giving up Diet Coke. Again.

We occasionally feature one of the well-written articles by doctor and blogger Jen Gunter. You can visit her blog here.

My name is Dr. Jennifer Gunter and I am a Diet Coke addict. I had my last drink on Sunday, June 17th, around 6 pm. The photo is the Diet Coke that I drank that day. The last addition to the graveyard of my addiction.

Now many of you might think my use of addiction in describing my 30 year love affair with Diet Coke as hyperbole, but allow me to apply the CAGE questionnaire (an addiction screening tool) to my habit:

Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking? Why, yes. Yes I have. For 30 years I sustained a 4-5 can per day (at least that’s what I’m admitting to) habit. You don’t need to have a medical degree to know that’s too much Diet Coke. For the last 5 or so years I’ve really thought that I needed to do something about it (I was in full denial before).

When a politician decides...

... if the life of the mother is at risk

Dr. Jen Gunter

We occasionally feature one of the well-written articles by doctor and blogger Jen Gunter. You can visit her blog here.

“I have a 20-year-old with what I can only describe as a poorly repaired heart defect and, uh, suboptimal follow-up,” the cardiologist’s voice was rushed.

“That’s no good,” I said.

“Yeah, well, it gets worse. She had baby two years ago. Went into heart failure around 36 weeks. I’ve got the records. I have no idea how she made it home.” And then he added, “She had a c-section, but no one tied her goddamn tubes.”

Cancer v. the Constitution

The patient in the emergency department smelled of advanced cancer. It is the smell of rotting flesh, but even more pungent. You only ever have to smell it once.

She had been bleeding irregularly, but chalked it up to “the change.” Peri-menopausal hormonal mayhem is the most common cause of irregular vaginal bleeding, but unfortunately not the only cause.