Pain, Pain, Go Away!

It started with hard-core cynics. Then came the rednecks , then blue collar people, and now the middle class is joining in. I'm talking about people who realize most of those making public health decisions not only have no idea what they're doing, but they don't realize they have no idea.  "This product is an ear loop mask, this product is not a respirator and will not provide any protections against COVID-19 (coronavirus) and other viruses or contaminants."  Some of their magical thinking would be funny if people weren't suffering:  From Portland, Oregon : "We’re seeing the number of people hospitalized going up at rates we’ve never seen before,” said Peter Graven, Ph.D., lead data scientist in OHSU’s Business Intelligence unit. “ We had hoped to see the new statewide masking mandate make a difference in flattening the rate of infection, but we’re not seeing that yet.” I noticed that people in the building trades, who probably wear masks for work or k...

What do you get when you cross a wave of illness with an exodus of nurses and caregivers? We may be about to find out. The experience in Israel, where they vaccinated early and widely, shows the Pfizer vaccine starts petering out around six months. A Japanese preprint study says that with a few common mutations, the delta variant could escape the Pfizer vaccine neutralizing antibodies. And now, several hospitals are mandating vaccination and Biden is requiring nursing home employees to be vaccinated. I'm not in the health care industry, but from what I've heard, a lot of nursing homes would have to shut their doors in the face of such a requirement . Alex Berenson, on the other hand, thinks the hospital mandates, at least, will go bye-bye if nurses sit tight. Let's hope so.  Vaccine Mandates The FDA's approval of the Pfizer vaccine is likely to increase the mandates--which seems to be the only purpose of the approval. The acting commissioner of the FDA was their "...

It's been a tough year and a half for most of us, but I've been taking advantage of the things available to us in 2021. DIY health, LED lights and modern home improvement tools have improved my life this year.  The main thing has been DIY health. As many readers know, trying to get necessary labs from doctors can make you feel like Oliver Twist: "Please, sir, may I have some proper health care?" Being more irreverent and more of a do-it-yourselfer, I've ordered my own labs (allowed here in freewheelin' Indiana), researched my own care, and experimented with hormones ordered online. I've also been a member of Dr. Davis's Inner Circle group and found it invaluable. The L. reuteri/B. coagulans yogurt in particular has been helpful. It has been a bumpy ride, but my last thyroid panel came back normal. Normal--on no medications! My free T3 and free T4 are in the middle of the reference range. TSH is above program ideal at 2.4, but I'm not tired, I'...

Will someone alert New Zealand's prime minister that the Babylon Bee isn't a guide to public policy? "New Zealand Announces it's Locking Down the Entire Country...Over One Covid Case. " The elipses suggest that even CNN thinks they've lost the plot. A month ago, the Babylon Bee wrote , "...officials in Canada say they are dealing with an apocalyptic surge of "literally infinity percent" after COVID cases increased from zero to one this week. “Our nation may never recover from this,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau." New Zealand is going for zero COVID. The New York Post says , "[Prime Minister] Ardern announced that all New Zealand will be in the toughest, level-four lockdown for at least three days from Wednesday, with schools, offices and businesses closed and only essential services operational. The biggest city, Auckland — where the unidentified 58-year-old man tested positive — would have a longer, seven-day lockdown, as would...

Before I resume my home improvement project, I want to cheer on everyone who is protesting vaccine passports. Nobody should have to take an experimental vaccine to access "non-essential" services.  Hundreds of thousands of people across Europe, Israel and Canada--many of them vaccinated--are marching, boycotting businesses, and burning their vaccine cards. They understand that freedom is a natural right, not a gift bestowed by government. They understand that skulking through life in a constant state of fear isn't living; that a two-tier society isn't what they want. Picture from bq3a News #manifestation contre le #PassSanitaire de #PorteDoree à #PlaceDeClichy à #Paris . #manifestation14aout #Manifs14aout #healthpass #greenpass #vaccinepassport YouTube [4K] : https://t.co/fTcjNEF4q2 pic.twitter.com/gz42I4bJny — TV YÉ ! (@tvyefr) August 14, 2021   French restaurant owners - EVERYONE welcome no #Vaxpasses COME ON BRITS!! @CraigKellyMP @mrmarkdolan @John...

Every day is bringing fresh coronavirus quackery disguised as science. Getting COVID makes you dumber ; kids are at significant risk of COVID ; the unvaccinated are driving infections --these are actual, mainstream ideas out there. There are not enough days in the week for me to debunk it all: my vacation is over today; my cracked bathroom ceiling is half-scraped and the fan-light I dropped and broke needs to be replaced; and I badly need some time engaging with people who haven't lost their minds.  So I am calling on readers to sharpen their thinking skills, use the scientific method and learn how to read studies and understand risk. Don't worry--the videos below are entertaining and succinct. In less than an hour, you'll know more about science than most reporters on the news.  * * * * * This four-minute video by Gerd Gigerenzer shows you the difference between relative and absolute risk--or how Pfizer can claim, with a straight face, 90% effectiveness for a vaccine that ...

Have you ever known a crazy-maker--someone who lied, exaggerated, and caused trouble for its own sake? At some point, it's wise to ignore them or even cut off contact. While we can't stop the corona kiddie crazy-making in the media, we can hold it up to scrutiny by looking at more reliable sources than Nurse Ratched and tabloid journalists working for organizations formerly known as newspapers.  Would you take advice from this woman? Stock photo from Pexels . If you think I'm exaggerating, the Miami Herald quotes an epidemiologist : Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Florida International University, said the spike in pediatric hospitalizations over the last week was preventable. “It’s very unfortunate,” she said. “ These kids didn’t even get to make the decisions that are impacting their health.” Trepka said she is especially concerned about kids starting school again. She urged parents to get their eligible children 12 and older vaccina...