You’d think after eight years of George W. Bush as President you would have thought the Republican party would ensure its front-runners for the 2012 Presidential bid would at the very least appear to seem to know what they are talking about. But sadly, they got Michelle Bachmann instead. Now I thought the American right (specifically the Tea Party wing) had lost most of its credibility (primarily) in regards to modern science when one of its darlings, Sarah Palin, said this:
Now, yes you may well be reeling laughter/pity for the Palin. But this has turned out to be nothing when compared to the Tea Party’s newer rising darling, Michelle Bachmann. This is the woman who wishes to close down the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regards homosexuality as a “disorder” and a “sexual difunction” and wishes to repeal all health care system legislation.
What she done now? You may ask. Well she, like Palin has delved into the realm of scientific ignorance. Bachmann claimed that the HPV vaccine, which is a well-proven preventer of cervical cancer, causes ”mental retardation” in children. Yup, you heard right, “mental retardation” in children.
Now I’m not even going to go in to the long long list of scientists and scientific institutions that lined up to show how ridiculous Bachmann’s comments are. But I will provide her with two specific facts:
- HPV, Human Papilloma Virus, or more commonly: genital warts is the most common STD worldwide and is the 2nd largest cause of female cancer (CDC).
- Investigations by the AMA, CDC, WHO, and other major health organizations have cleared the vaccine as safe. Of 23 million administered dosages, 772 (that’s .003%) reported serious effects.
HI Max,
I applaud your post. As a Women’s Health Educator this made me want to scream… then find a way to move to some other country.
Hedda
Max while I despise Palin she doe have a point about scientist pet projects, yes maybe she chose a bad example but the point can still stand, 1/2 years ago leeds uni using goverment money found out what the perfect biscuit for dunking in tea was, earlier this year a university, maybe eve leeds again, I can remember, found out how to make the perfect cup of tea, both of these do not futher mankinds knowledge and really improve our lives, I fail to see how medical breakthrough can come from theses studies and the money given for these projects could be used on better reserch topics
Well I think anyone can agree with the Tea experiments (though the newly formed ‘Tea Society’ may so otherwise) that they were a waste of time and money
I would point out that research into seemingly pointless areas can be useful as the knowledge gained can be used in other fields. Discovering how to make the perfect cup of tea was, I suspect, not really the object of the study. It would have been the increased understanding of the physical and chemical reactions involved that was the useful part. (The idea of making the perfect cup of tea would simply have been there to give a focus to the research). Many inventions and developments have resulted from research projects that at first appeared trivial or irrelevant.