Dave’s Blog
Let’s not Eschew the Facts
The following was published in The Union on 15 October 2019. The complexity of autism syndromes argues against easy categorizations such as “vaccines cause autism” or “vaccines don’t cause autism.” Yet the “always-safe-vaccine” meme is so entrenched in our culture that anyone who raises questions is labeled as an “anti-vaxxer.” Nothing is as simple as it seems. I understand Thomas Elias’ point in his Sept. 7 column entitled, “Violent acts only hinder anti-vaccination cause” … up to a point. In his previous April 19 column, he wrote, “Measles can kill, while vaccines never have.” That is false. Measles and vaccines can...
Read MoreThe Fair: Word of the Day
Published in The Union, September 2, 2019 OK, let’s be honest. The fair was great; the weather spectacular; the cool refreshing air was a pleasant contrast to last year’s smoke-filled ambience. The food was to die for. Job’s Daughter’s corn dogs were as outstanding as usual, especially with a smattering of mustard and ketchup. What was not to like? Nothing, except that a new word had crept into my vocabulary from some research I recently stumbled upon. And now, dear readers, I will share that word with you. When ordering two corn dogs, being the curmudgeon that I am, I asked the saleslady if the corn they used was genetically modified (GM). She...
Read MoreFrom the wastewater pond to the kitchen table
This article was published 16 may 2019 in The Union. As a retired person, I find it easy these days to retreat from the concerns of the world and mindlessly watch TV. However, the other day two articles on the internet and a television ad jolted me out of my entertainment-mediated somnolence. But first, some context. In 1989, scientists discovered a soil bacterium surviving in a glyphosate-contaminated wastewater pond in Louisiana owned by a company that makes a popular weed killer. Normally, glyphosate kills plants by blocking proteins essential to plant growth. The bacterium should not have survived in the toxic brew, but it did. Long story short, scientists...
Read MoreCurtailing the Corporatocracy
In 1995 I saved the life of my then 78- year-old mother-in-law. Before I discuss this further, some context is needed. In the introduction to my third book, Beyond Mental Illness, I state that I am not a PhD, or an MD, but merely a JSW (just a social worker), actually a retired LCSW who happens to know his way around the Internet. I define a class of citizen-empowered researchers, claim myself as one, and then introduce a model for reforming the prevailing mental illness paradigm, the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5). My authority is footnotes, not advanced degrees. So it is in that same spirit that I share some observations regarding advertised products...
Read MoreWe are the Radium Girls.
Little remembered snippets from our history provide illuminating insights for today. The calomel story is one example. From the 1890s to the 1940s, calomel or mercury chloride, was used in powders to ease the pain of teething in babies. The powders contained 0.21 percent mercury, a potent neurotoxin.
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