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The Three Musketeers of Woo attack science-based medicine
By oracknows on January 8, 2010.
I realize that I haven't done an installment of Your Friday Dose of Woo for a while--well over a month, in fact. Because of the gap between woo installments, I had been thinking that today was the time. There are at least a couple of really good candidates (and a host of halfway decent ones) in my Folder of Woo. However, sadly, another installment in the unfortunately never-ending story of YFDoW will have to wait at least another week. You see, the Bat Signal went up (or should I call it the Woo Signal?), and duty calls. What is the particular instance of someone being wrong on the Internet that requires a loving application of a heapin' helpin' of not-so-Respectful Insolence. I'll give you a hint.
It's on that repository of quackery, anti-vaccine madness, and woo, The Huffington Post. Where else?
This time around, The Three Musketeers of Woo (Larry Dossey, Deepak Chopra, and Rustum Roy) have decided to launch a full frontal assault on science-based medicine in an outrageously stupid piece, chock full of logical fallacies, whining, false dichotomies, and just plain bad reasoning in a post entitled The Mythology of Science-Based Medicine (conveniently crossposted on Deepak Chopra's Intent Blog). Think of a supernova of burning stupid meeting a black hole of ignorance. Which would win? Would the supernova of burning stupid be able to overcome the ignorance well of the black hole, or would the black hole suck all the burning stupid out of the supernova past its event horizon? Which would win?
I don't know which would win, but I do know that, whatever does win such a monumental struggle, it won't be the reader.
One thing I noticed is that, since the last time the Three Musketters of Woo attacked science-based medicine in the pages of HuffPo, it consisted of Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, and Rustum Roy, which makes me wonder; What happened to Andrew Weil? Why did the Musketeers have to bring in a ringer? Maybe Weil, being the "reasonable" face of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) movement, realizes that what follows is so blisteringly dumb that he doesn't want to be associated with it. Weil's always been the clever one, and he doesn't usually launch such frontal assaults on the very concept of science-based medicine. Instead, he tries to subvert it by trying to infiltrate it with woo and assimilate it, Borg-like. So they brought in Andrew Weil's dumber brother in the CAM movement to fill in, and he lives down to expectations, given his bio on HuffPo:
Dr. Larry Dossey is a former physician of internal medicine and former Chief of Staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital. He received his M. D. degree from Southwestern Medical School (Dallas), and trained in internal medicine at Parkland and the VA hospitals in Dallas. Dossey has lectured at medical schools and hospitals throughout the United States and abroad. In 1988 he delivered the annual Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, India, the only physician ever invited to do so. He is the author of ten books dealing with consciousness, spirituality, and healing, including the New York Times bestseller HEALING WORDS: THE POWER OF PRAYER AND THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, most recently THE POWER OF PREMONITIONS. Dr. Dossey is the former co-chairman of the Panel on Mind/Body Interventions, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health. He is the executive editor of the peer--reviewed journal EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing. Dr. Dossey lectures around the world. He lives in Santa Fe with his wife Barbara, who is a nurse-consultant and the author of several award-winning books.
So Dossey's the executive editor of EXPLORE? Truly, the woo is strong in this one. Remember, EXPLORE is the "journal" that publishes allegedly scientific papers on topics such as "distant healing" and, even more hilariously, imbuing chocolate with "intent." His editorial standards, suffice it to say, do not impress me. Moreover, the very fact that he ever held any position whatsoever at NCCAM tells you all you need to know about the promotion of pseudoscience and woo by NCCAM, especially given the fetid load of dingo's kidneys that he laid down with Brother Deepak and Brother Rustum. It's based on a massive straw man argument and a whole lot of special pleading. But first, it starts with a false dichotomy:
The current healthcare debate has brought up basic questions about how medicine should work. On one hand we have the medical establishment with its enormous cadre of M.D.s, medical schools, big pharma, and incredibly expensive hospital care. On the other we have the semi-condoned field of alternative medicine that attracts millions of patients a year and embraces literally thousands of treatment modalities not taught in medical school.
Not exactly. Well, no, not really, but I'm sure Dossey would like the dichotomy to be this. However, I think that the use of this false dichotomy is intentional. If there's one thing boosters of unscientific and pseudoscientific treatments want, it's to be viewed as on par with science-based medicine, as an "alternative" but equal system. Framing the issue this way from the first paragraph is likely an intentional strategy to implant right from the beginning in the reader's brain that there really is a dichotomy. My response, of course, is to repeat once again my oft-repeated favorite saying: There is no such thing as "alternative medicine." There is medicine that is scientifically validated and there is medicine that is not. Of the latter, there is medicine that doesn't work and medicine that has not been shown to work with science. Nearly all of the modalities falling into the "thousands of treatment modalities not taught in medical school" are in fact not taught in medical school because they fall into one of these latter two categories: The don't work, or there's no good evidence that they should, not to mention that there's no good reason based in science to think that they would work.
Now, on to the whine:
One side, mainstream medicine, promotes the notion that it alone should be considered "real" medicine, but more and more this claim is being exposed as an officially sanctioned myth. When scientific minds turn to tackling the complex business of healing the sick, they simultaneously warn us that it's dangerous and foolish to look at integrative medicine, complementary and alternative medicine, or God forbid, indigenous medicine for answers. Because these other modalities are enormously popular, mainstream medicine has made a few grudging concessions to the placebo effect, natural herbal remedies, and acupuncture over the years. But M.D.s are still taught that other approaches are risky and inferior to their own training; they insist, year after year, that all we need are science-based procedures and the huge spectrum of drugs upon which modern medicine depends.
Note the subtle use of the word "procedures." Not "treatments." Not "medicines." Not "therapies." Procedures. Note how that is then juxtaposed against "alternative medicine" or "indigenous medicine." This framing intentionally makes another false dichotomy: Between "procedures" of science-based medicine and the nice, fuzzy, happy "treatments" of alt-med. And, of course, they're "enormously popular," leading to the classic logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum.
More importantly is the nonsense about medicine being unrelentingly hostile to alt-med. In fact, in a case of being so open-minded that its brains are falling out, academic medicine is embracing woo wholesale. How many times have I complained about just that right here on this blog, be it about NCCAM wasting $120 million of taxpayer money every year studying woo or the infiltration of woo into academic medical centers? The problem isn't that "mainstream medicine" is hostile to alt-med. It used to be, but no more. The problem is that, at the same time mainstream medicine is promoting "evidence-based" medicine, it is also embracing non-evidence-based medicine. It is embracing a more "fluid concept of evidence" in order to allow CAM to obtain legitimacy.
The next part of the article consists of a whole lot of special pleading, topped off with some serious cherry picking and deception by omission. First up, The Three Musketeers of Woo make a huge deal out of the BMJ's attempt to evaluate mainstream medical treatments and determine which ones have solid evidence to support them. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the website, and neither does my institution; so I can't evaluate much of it. Be that as it may, the Musketeers make much of the observation that 46% of treatments were "unknown" in their effectiveness or that, if you believe BMJ's analysis, only 36% are likely to help. Even if this were true, I notice one glaring omission. Notice how the Musketeers don't mention comparable numbers for their treatments. Even if scientific medicine performed this poorly, it's virtually certain that alt-med performs far more poorly. Moreover, I'd be willing to bet that the evidence base in favor of the woo that the Musketeers favor is pathetic in comparison to that supporting science-based medicine. In other words, this is a massive case of the pot calling the kettle black, except that the kettle isn't even black in this case.
Then the Musketeers get really sloppy with the facts (surprise, surprise):
We all marvel at the technological advances in materials and techniques that allow doctors to perform quadruple bypass surgeries and angioplasties without marveling that recent studies indicate that coronary bypass surgery will extend life expectancy in only about three percent of cases. For angioplasty that figure sinks to zero percent. Those numbers might be close to what you could expect from a witch doctor, one difference being that witch doctors don't submit bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.
This is deceptive in the extreme, as the Musketeers neglect to mention that these results are in patients with stable angina. In high risk anatomic subsets, both CABG and angioplasty prolong survival versus medical therapy alone. Moreover, they don't discuss relief of angina symptoms. While survival is the most important endpoint, relief of symptoms is also quite important. Another deceptive statement made in the article is that anti-depressants don't work better than placebo. There may be evidence that this is true for patients with mild to moderate depression, for severe depression even the meta-analysis cited supports the efficacy of anti-depressants, so much so that Dr. Scott Mendelson, no enemy of woo he, arrived in the comments to take the Musketeers to task for a huge straw man:
The second point is that while some psychiatrists and many primary care physicians may believe that antidepressants work simply by increasing the levels of serotonin and/or norepinephrine in the brain, no competent psychopharmacologist believes this. To suggest that experts in the field are either misleading people into taking medications they don't need, or that we ourselves have been fooled by the pharmaceutical industry into believing that the underlying problem is a mere lack of neurotransmitter than can be reversed by antidepressants, is incorrect.
Then, of course, there's the claim that "Dr. Barbara Starfield, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, estimated that between 230,000 and 284,000 deaths occur each year in the US due to iatrogenic causes, or physician error, making this number three in the leading causes of death for all Americans." This figure has actually always bothered me, as it's clearly the highest of the usual apocalyptic estimates for how many people doctors supposedly kill, and the reason is simple math. Each and every year in the U.S., approximately 2.5 million people die. If Dr. Starfield is to be believed, approximately 10% of all deaths are from iatrogenic causes, which would make iatrogenic death the third leading cause of deaths in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer. Patients in hospitals tend to be sick and more prone to complications. For one thing, Starfield counts 80,000 deaths from nosocomial infections in hospitals. Nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections) are a big problem, no doubt, but lumping them in with medical error and iatrogenic causes is rather questionable. Many nosocomial infections can't be prevented easily and are not the fault of the physicians treating the patient. Moreover, nearly all of these numbers were derived from hospital studies. Similar considerations apply to non-error adverse reactions, which are said to claim 100,000 deaths a year. Remember, these were not medicines given in error. To compare this number honestly, you have to look at it in comparison to the number of lives saved every year by these medications. In other words, one has to compare the risks versus the benefits:
But there is a more important fact that should keep you from being scared away from real medicine.
Advances in the treatment of coronary artery disease, the number one killer of Americans, reduced the number of deaths by over 340,000 in 2000 alone. And that's just one disease.
So, in one year, medical errors may cause a few tens of thousands of deaths (and these are preventable deaths), but real medicine, in one disease alone, saves an order of magnitude more.
Don't get me wrong. We ought to be doing everything we can to decrease complications and death due to medical errors. The Institute of Medicine suggests the number may be from 44,000 to 98,000. By any measure this is far too many, but remember this: it wasn't The Three Musketeers of Woo who did the studies to derive these estimates. It was not Dr. Dossey, and it was most certainly not Deepak Chopra or Rustum Roy. It was science-based physicians trying to improve the practice of medicine, and there is nothing even coming close to a similar dataset maintained by alt-med practitioners.
The Three Musketeers of Woo are really good with special pleading, though. Because they have no convincing evidence that their therapies are any better than placebo medicine, all they can do is to try to attack the efficacy of scientific medicine. They don't dare go head-to-head with scientific medicine becaue they know the don't have the goods. The day I see woo-meisters like The Three Musketeers produce studies similar to the IOM report on medical errors or honest appraisals of the efficacy of, say, homeopathy is the day I might take their whining and special pleading more seriously. Not before.
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While survival is the most important endpoint, relief of symptoms is also quite important.
Ask a homoeopath, and they'll tell you that "suppressing" the symptoms will only make matters worse.
By Mojo (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I've known of Rustom Roy since I was in grad school in the early 90s. He is the type of guy who seems to have an oddball opinion on everything, and thinks everyone cares to hear it. Unlike a blogger, who creates their own world and lets others who are interested come to visit, Roy insists on pontificating in the general public setting.
Short answer: Even before he got into the woo, he was a recognizable blowhard.
By Pablo (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I personally love the lumping of placebo effect with acupuncture and herbs. It's an interesting admission to me that the woosters know that placebo is important to their claim of "effectiveness."
By Diane (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
"What happened to Andrew Weil? Why did the Musketeers have to bring in a ringer? "
Maybe instead of the Three Musketeers they could be the 3 stooges, with Dossey as Shemp.
By JohnV (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Yes there are two kinds of "medicine."
1) Medicine that has been demonstrated to work.
2) "Medicine" that has not been demonstrated to work.
People who want to get better should rely on the former.
What's truly sad is if the Woo-Meisters really wanted to get their burning stupid accepted by the scientific community they'd only have to do one thing: Prove it works!
(Sadly for them, burning stupid doesn't work - which is where we get the problem in the first place.)
By Dave Robinson (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I've recently come to the conclusion that the CAM folks and the IDiot crowd must get together on a regular basis to discuss strategy. I bet the two of them could get together and write one hell of a high school biology text book. I think I'd actually buy one (a used copy of course).
By Smrt Newfie (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
There's a great comment from "dsws" on the Huffpo article, pointing out their misunderstanding of statistics in the statement "when you take your sick child to the hospital or clinic, there is only a 36 percent chance that he will receive a treatment that has been scientifically demonstrated to be either beneficial or likely to be beneficial."
Damn you! I wish I had thought of that line! JohnV wins the Internets today...
I guess the question then becomes: In the next iteration of the Three Stooges of Woo, who will be Joe and then later who will be Curly-Jo? Of course, true aficionados of the Stooges know that Shemp was actually the original third stooge.
By Orac (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
""when you take your sick child to the hospital or clinic, there is only a 36 percent chance that he will receive a treatment that has been scientifically demonstrated to be either beneficial or likely to be beneficial.""
This is consistent with my experience. In the last month, I have taken my child to the doctor 3 times, and only got a scientifically beneficial treatment once.
That is because those other two times, we brought him in because he has been having a persistent cough, and wanted to make sure that it has not developed into anything more serious than minor congestion. Since it hadn't, the doctor sent us home with only some common suggestions (use a vaporizor in his room, elevate his head end of the bed slightly) that likely have not been examined in a clinical trial.
Oooooh, the evil doctors....
BTW, I forgot to mention, the one time we did get a scientifically beneficial treatment was when we got antibiotic for an ear infection.
I was just wondering if one took the Huffington Post and diluted it with say ten copies of the complete works of Shakespeare and shook it all up and put it on a sugar pill would it be more palatable to read?
By Sir Eccles (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Instead of which they prefer to attack real medicine. Go figure...
Not to defend the woo'ers, but I did want to point out one thing which hits close to home for me.
Nosocomial infections can certainly be counted as something caused by doctors error:
My father died three years ago, of complications from an antibiotic resistant infection. The way that he got that infection was by being placed into a two-bed room with a patient who had multiple-antibiotic resistant pneumonia.
I don't know how the doomsday statistic was generated; I agree that it seems unreasonably large. But I also don't think that the fact that it includes nosocomial infections as being caused by doctors errors is a reason for invalidating it: any tally of deaths caused by physician error should include the cases where errors led to an infection.
(The hospital where my father died has a big, beautiful plaque hanging in the entry to their critical care ward, bragging about how they have gone N years without a single hospital-acquired infection in that ward. That's where my father caught his infection. But the plaque is still there, and it's been updated to add more years of no supposed hospital acquired infections, the dirty lying fuckers.)
By Mark C. Chu-Carroll (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Mark, I remember. Please note that I wasn't claiming that nosocomial infections aren't due to physician error, merely that many of them aren't. That doesn't stop the woo-meisters were assuming that every single one of them is. Nosocomial infections are more often due to systemic issues (note how check lists for central line placement can dramatically reduce the number of catheter-related infections), but sometimes they can't be avoided. Certainly we should do everything we can to reduce the rate of nosocomial infections, but the nature of the beast (the hospital) makes this difficult. Really sick patients on multiple antibiotics over time produce a lot of nasty, resistant bugs.
My God I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this.
By DrWonderful (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Don't miss this HuffPo parody
http://comedy.com/files/2010/01/HuffPoFinal.jpg
By Liz Ditz (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
It could have been much worse. Instead of Dossey to round out the trio they could have gotten Ullman ...
By Alareth (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I just want them to agree never to seek "allopathic" procedures, ever. No heart surgeries, no transplants, no chemotherapy or invasive surgery.
I'd sleep better at night knowing that they weren't hypocrits.
Well, and with the understanding that they'd likely die sooner.
By xinit (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Orac, the hospital really should take down the plaque, or modify it--that is what sticks in Mark's craw. I'm sure he understands the broader point about nothing being perfect.
By Anthro (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I found this blog after following a link from the NYT. I cannot agree more with your assessment of these so called 'physicians'. Witch doctors is more like it.
Back in the mid-90's, I was involved with a young man named Randy. He lived with his parents in Nederland Colorado and I would classify them as an extreme example of 'magical thinking' gone awry. They were big fans of Deepak Chopra and other New Age superstars that seemed to have a book out every year and at first (never having really read his stuff) I was willing to go along with the idea that the mind had control over some aspects of physical health. To me it meant something like the placebo effect. To them it meant that levitation was possible. After about a year and a half, I and my boyfriend began to have some serious discussions about my diabetes. These discussions did not go well, as he kept brining up Deepak Chopra's work with Type 2 diabetics, and how Chopra's institute had managed to cure them via meditation.
The fact I am a Type 1 diabetic, the victim of an autoimmune response when I was 10 and dependent on insulin for life, did not matter to my then-boyfriend. I tried to explain the processes and the reason that I had to inject myself with insulin multiple times a day and test my blood sugar. He told me I wasn't being open to alternative medicine.
Believe me, if there was ANY possibility that ANY alternative treatment could treat or cure my TYPE 1 diabetes, I would be all over it. However, such a treatment does not exist, outside of a pancreas and kidney transplant. He didn't understand the differences between Type 2 diabetes, where people can appear 'cured' and can reduce the amount of medication they take if they are serious about making the necessary lifestyle changes, such as exercising more, eating less and in some cases, losing weight. But no lifestyle change will ever bring back my beta cells, the pancreatic cells destroyed by the immune system when Type 1 diabets presents itself. Without strict adherance to intensive insulin therapy, tight control over our diets and carb counting, blood sugar monitoring and taking the appropriate supplementary medications such as ACE inhibitors to slow the pace of cardiovascular deterioration and potential small blood vessel damage that can lead to retinopathy and kidney failure, Type 1 diabetics face serious consequences. Even when we do handle and manage things correctly, complications can show up. Hypoglycemia is one of them - frequent hypoglycemia is a sign that a Type 1 diabetic is actually following their medication schedule. I had several low blood sugar episodes while we were together and Randy acted as if I were the one at fault for them, as if I was too weak-willed just to simply not have them. I tried to make him understand, but it was like talking to a Libertarian about Social Security - a total brick wall.
His family aided and abbetted his attitudes and New Age prejudices. His mother was the sort that espoused feminism and yet stayed home due to some unseen 'disability'. She built compost heaps right next to the house and then wondered why she had ants in the kitchen and bears in the yard. When a doctor told her she needed to take lithium as a treatment for her depression, she went out and found a pendant made of some stone that contained the compound - I think it was some egg-shaped crystal of some kind. His father had a normal, well-paying job at a car dealership, but threw that away in an attempt to write bad New Age Fiction in the same vein as Chopra. I remember reading the draft he was going to send in to publishers and wincing at how bad it was. When he asked the family for a critique, instead of just telling Randy's father how great the novel was, I actually tried to give him the same kind of critique a reviewer would give him, which wasn't what he wanted to hear. As time went on, I was treated as an outsider for expressing my opinions, and eventually the relationship between Randy and I disintegrated. The differences between us finally came to a head on New Year's Eve, 1997, while listening to an NPR story in the car about the legal defense of a child-molester who claimed the nine-year-old girl had 'asked for it'. When I exclaimed a child molester was someone who should be taken out to a field and shot, Randy yelled back at me and stated 'what makes you think that girl's soul didn't decided for this to happen so that she could work out karma from her last life?'
Unbelievable. A month later, he told me to leave, saying that he had tried his best to make me see the light regarding his beliefs and he just couldn't do it anymore. Plus, he wanted someone healthy, someone who wasn't 'married to their illness'.
Chopra and his ilk exist because people like Randy exist - people with little education past high school, who are easily influenced by those who promise much for little and who reject science based on observation and proven testing methods in favor of a magic wand. Of course Deepak Chopra is going to malign traditional medicine - the more he plants the seed of doubt among sheep like Randy and his family, the more money he makes. I view them as the left's version of the Christian evengelical preachers who put books out saying 'God wants you to be prosperous and make lots of money - buy my book and learn all about it!"
Randy wanted me to give up my diabetes, to simply will it away and insisted that I try. He became angry when my physician put me on an ACE inhibitor to try to prevent cardiovascular complications. He, of course, had no underlying health issues, hadn't had to cope with a chronic incurable illness since childhood and I suppose that also cemented Randy's sense of superiority as far as his own health was concerned. I find it interesting that few people in my position ever take people like Chopra seriously - we know too much about illness from having to live with it. We are realists who understand that some illnesses cannot be willed away, cannot be attacked by anything other than controlled experimentation and replication of results. Anecdotal evidence on the pages of a New Age tome that retails for $30 a pop won't cure anyone, won't ease the pain of anyone other than Chopra and his family, who I'm sure thank each and every one of their flock for their hard earned dollars.
For my part, getting away from an environment filled with Kool-Aid drinkers devoted to Chopra was a blessing in retrospect. I went on to a career, earned an MBA and have prospered with my marriage to a man with some common sense. While I have serious gripes at how medicine is doled out and paid for in our society, I have no arguments with the validity of that medicine, nor the science that underlies it. I participate in studies meant to discover the origins of my illness, have donated time and blood to researchers looking for better forms of treatment, or perhaps even cures. I've signed the paperwork that allows me to donate my body for research into how and why Type 1 diabetes manifests. Hopefully my corpse will show some young future endocrinologist just what we as Type 1 diabetics suffer during our lifetimes. It will be my last gift, to try to help others afflicted with this condition. I don't have Chopra's money, I don't have his influence over the idiot mindset of the American people and I fear that people like Chopra are going to become the de facto medical specialists for people too stupid to see that the only thing these men can offer is an empty wallet.
By Cheri (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@xinit- why do you say that? I really don't think anyone is saying that medicine should be eliminated. God no. Why do you take the Us vs Them attitude? Why can't you accept an Us and Them world? As atheists looking to assimilate more into a theist culture isn't that what most of you desire? Or should I not ask...
I'm a chiropractor and the very first place I would go for a serious or life threatening medical condition is my MD. I'd also look to integrate other options as well. For most non serious or non life threatening situations a combination of therapies is not only effective but very popular. Why are you so threatened by that? Why the vitriol? Would you believe about half of my practice comes from MD referrals now? This includes ortho's, neuro's and pediatricians. I currently count numerous MD's, Dentists, and PT's as my patients as well. They think what we do is, well, wonderful.
The only people looking for exclusivity and omnipotent power in healthcare nowadays is y'all. The rest of us got over it decades ago. Maybe you should too?
I think Chopra et al have an intersting point. The hypocricy point. Reportedly, only 36-40% of the procedures that you accept as being worthy of praise (literally) have the same level of evidence that you demand, quite forcefully I might add, from others. Wow, what a good point to raise. He must be reading what I've been writing here for awhile.
@Cheri
Ouch. Thanks for sharing your story. You may have heard about this, but at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Denise Faustman is doing research trying to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. My office does a fair bit of fundraising for it.
By Todd W. (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
"Those numbers might be close to what you could expect from a witch doctor, one difference being that witch doctors don't submit bills in the tens of thousands of dollars."
CAM practitioners/advocates decrying witch doctors? I think *my* irony meter may require recalibration.
Unless their point is that CAM is just that much cheaper because -it's just tap water-. :P
By the_muteKi (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Would the supernova of burning stupid be able to overcome the ignorance well of the black hole, or would the black hole suck all the burning stupid out of the supernova past its event horizon?
That would depend on the quantity of ignorance making up the black hole. We can find the size of the ignorance well by the following equation...
rs = 2As / c2
... where A is the attractive pull of the ignorance via the arrogance by ignorance factor, s is the overall level of ignorance achieved in the system, and c is the speed of light by which the ignorance spreads on the web. With Deepak Chopra in the mix, the results of this equation should yield a supermassive black hole of ignorance on par with Sagittarius A* and any supernova closer than a light year away will be swallowed.
However, there's a little twist in this case since the supernova in question is that of burning stupid. Since burning stupid and ignorance carry different charges, they form an intense attraction to one another by the law of inverse squares, that is, the power of burning stupid doubles near a well of ignorance when the distance between the forces is halved. Therefore, a supernova of burning stupid exploding close to a supermassive black hole of ignorance will create a blindingly bright accretion disk with jets of raw stupid radiating in a death ray that could effectively melt all irony meters within several tens of light years. Depending on the size of the supernova, it will eventually be consumed by ignorance and rearranged into nearly infinite quantum states within the singularity of sheer ignorance, an area where knowledge cannot survive for more than an instant.
By Greg Fish (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I agree with Anthro's point.
I have worked at locations that post signs about how many consecutive days they have gone without a work-related accident. Since the signs change from time to time, I trust they really are keeping track of these problems.
Mark C's father's hospital should have similar integrity.
I would much rather go to a hospital where the staff know what some of their problems are and try to do something about it (like following checklists for central-line placement) than go to a hospital that pretends everything is fine and dandy when it isn't.
Unfortunately, most of the purveyors of alternative medicine fall into the latter category.
By squirrelelite (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@ Greg Fish
I have submitted your thesis for peer review. One error in your math.
"...by the law of inverse squares, that is, the power of burning stupid doubles near a well of ignorance when the distance between the forces is halved."
Actually, the power of burning stupid quadruples ....when the distance between the forces is halved.
By Wholly Father (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I though the last paragraph of the article was interesting:
"We are not suggesting that Americans adopt any and all alternative practices simply because they are alternative. These, too, must demonstrate their effectiveness through objective testing. But alternative modalities should not be dismissed out of hand in favor of expensive and unnecessary procedures that have been shown to benefit no one absolutely except corporate stockholders."
So we should only accept "alternative practices" that have shown "effectiveness through objective testing"? Great - there's a name for that approach: Science-based medicine.
I would also add the additional staement that science-based modalities should not be dismissed out of hand in favor of expensive and unnecessary alternative procedures that have been shown to benefit no one other than charlatans and con artists.
By BKsea (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I'm reading Susskind's 'The Black Hole war' and he hasn't covered yet, but what kind of information would be radiated off once a supernova of burning stupid passes the event horizon of ignorance?
By blacksteel42 (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I can't help thinking Chopra et al are phoning this one in. Nothing new here - just false dilemma (real medicine has some problems, therefore woo works) again. Nothing like the spectacular woo arguments Chopra is capable of. Hardly worth their effort.
I suppose that's good, in a way.
By Skeptico (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
We are not suggesting that Americans adopt any and all alternative practices simply because they are alternative. These, too, must demonstrate their effectiveness through objective testing. But alternative modalities should not be dismissed out of hand in favor of expensive and unnecessary procedures that have been shown to benefit no one absolutely except corporate stockholders.
I'd like to see this Venn diagram:
1. 'alternative practices' that have demonstrated effectiveness through objective testing
2. the conditions for which mainstream medicine only offers "expensive and unnecessary procedures that have been shown to benefit no one absolutely" (absolutely? is that code for 100% success rate w/ no complications?)
3. the intersection of 1 & 2 in which a (real) medical condition can only be reliably and effectively treated by a CAM modality
By Scientizzle (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Cheri, I can't believe you put up with that guy for as long as you did.
Child molestation as karmic payback for past life peccadilloes?
"Stop the car, you raving loon, I'm walking from here."
By Fuzzzone (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@Fuzzzone
That kind of mentality was something I noticed in a lot of people who believe in "karma" and "reincarnation", such as some of the folks I met in Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist sect. Really put me off that they have a blame-the-victim mentality, particularly where the person had absolutely no control over what happened to them.
@DrWonderful
I don't believe you're familiar with Choprah's body of work, which focuses on the evils of western medicine.
I believe there is serious danger in scaring people away from their MDs; which is what this article, and so many more like it from the HuffPo appear to be trying to do.
It's the Three Wooges!
By Joerg (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Of course, since this is by definition the empty set, the rest of the Venn is uninteresting.
The argument is, though, since it demonstrates just how much MORE the Three Wooges (love that term, Joerg) would have to prove in order to have a legitimate case.
By Scott (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@Dr. Wonderful
Finally some who is making sense. We need both to compliment one another. This sort of thinking really needs to be taken to other industries as well. I think Mark Crislip had a great idea with this article.
Tim Minchin: "By definition, alternative medicine has either not been proved to work, or has been proved not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? Medicine."
By Jeff Read (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@Jeff Read- Really? Only medicine works? Weird. I could have sworn there were more than 35 excellent studies demonstrating the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapies. And not once did they call it medicine. Weird, huh? Medicine is trying to cop it, as we speak, but it's not called medicine. And what do they call the other 60% of the procedures that are performed in Medicine that have no proven benefit at the same level you require of others?
Also, Vitamin D...is that medicine? Green Tea extract is medicine? No way! Omega 3 benefits are medicine too, right? What about Milk Thistle?...more medicine, right? Niacin? Or have these only been proven to work when prescribed by the MD?
Your cult of science is deceiving you. You've been tricked into thinking you are smarter, better and more valuable than those you criticize blindly. But you're really not. I know you wanted so much to be the ebst but only to find you're average. Yeah, it sucks but most of the medical community got over it decades ago.
Doc Wonderful sez: "The only people looking for exclusivity and omnipotent power in healthcare nowadays is y'all."
Holy Massive Strawman! The only "exclusivity" being sought by supporters of evidence-based medicine is for all therapies, whether "conventional" or "alternative" to be exclusively judged by the same standard - that they be demonstrated to work by established scientific criteria.
I find it odd that you talk about the "cult of science" while simultaneously trumpeting "more than 35 excellent studies" allegedly vindicating the wonderfulness of chiropractic. If science is such a cult, why are you looking to it to give your profession credibility? :)
Of course, this is the double standard that woo-ists employ constantly - on the one hand denigrating research they don't like as being corrupted by Big Pharma or other Meanies, while jumping on the bandwagon of any study, no matter how poorly conducted, that seems to give credence to their woo (i.e. small studies in fringe journals, which probably are where most of Dr. Wonderful's "35 excellent studies" come from - since pretty much all chiropractic has going for it is evidence of modest effectiveness in treating chronic musculoskeletal pain, on a par with conventional therapies like rest and NSAIDS, or non-chiropractic physical therapy).
Nice try on tu quoquing your way out of the dilemma of being an apologist for unproven alt med treatments, but consider this: mainstream medicine actually reviews and discards treatments shown to be ineffective, while chiropractors and other alt medders seldom to never throw out useless and dangerous therapies and apparently have never heard of the concept of quality improvement.
By Dangerous Bacon (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
DrWonderful:
35 excellent studies demonstrating the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapies.
Link please. Also, what kind of spinal manipulation? The subluxations kind, or the skeletomuscular kind, which is basically a form of physical therapy and has been shown to possibly help lower back pain?
I think Mark Crislip had a great idea with this article.
I quite agree, that article is quite good and rather funny. Although...I don't think it means what you think it means. Irony meter score: 8/10
Also, as Orac quite clearly stated above, the "modern medical establishment" is anything but opposed to CAM. Well, there are some pockets of resistance, but mostly stuff like acupuncture and reiki are being swallowed hook, line and sinker. That's what happens when you have doctors not trained in the scientfic method, am I right?
By ajerma (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Hmm, anyone know why the blog substituted my name for that monstrosity down there?
DrWonderful, I've plonked people whom I considered very close friends for making arguments such as yours. I won't hesitate to plonk you.
(For those of you who don't know, "plonk" is Usenet speak for "ignore summarily", usually by electronic means but given the nature of this blog...)
I personally do not like the Huff and Puff Post either. However, there are alternatives to killer vaccines and dangerous medications. www.naturalnews.com is one of my favorites. There are many more. It's a shame we have to live in a world of people who still refuse alternative medicine ass opposed to a prescription that may do more harm than good in the long run. Oh well.
By Troll Lord (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Nice Poe, Troll Lord. I totally LOL'd.
By Rogue Epidemiologist (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@Wholly Father, #26
One error in your math... the power of burning stupid quadruples when the distance between the forces is halved.
Ah that's right! I swear, I make the silliest errors sometimes. Thank FSM for peer review and thank you for catching that.
@blacksteel42, #28
... what kind of information would be radiated off once a supernova of burning stupid passes the event horizon of ignorance?
Quantum misinformation radiation. You can detect it by the abnormally high use of the term "quantum" completely regardless of context, generally used as a deus ex machina to stabilize the wake-fields of burning stupid which travels with it.
In a reversal of general rules of astrophysics, the bigger the black hole of ignorance, the more misinformation radiation it emits. Hence the system is unstable overall, relying on constant feedings off burning stupid to hold itself together. Should it fail to accrete enough burning stupid, it simply dissipates with a whimper.
@ MCC#12- sorry to hear about your father. That's a sad story.
Technically the physicians have little choice over which room a patient is allocated. That's an administrative and nursing decision in general.
Which of course does not excuse the hospital having placed your father in such a position.
Nevertheless, IMHO nosocomial infection is less a doctor problem than a system problem.
By red rabbit (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Even if the absurdly high levels of Iatrogenic deaths put forth by the Woo-Teers was exactly true, they would still have to explain why their hand-waving and patent nonsense nostrums do not exceed placebo effect in the best available clinical trials.
By DLC (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
Joerg wins an internet with a side of fries for that atrocious pun; it's not often I see something so bad I actually blurt "ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!" at the screen. Well done!
And Orac wins an internet and a cherry Coke for some of the prettiest discourse analytics I've seen done by a non-practitioner in a long time. Nice shootin', Tex. Speaking as the Friendly Neighbourhood Rhetorician (really), I practically needed a cigarette after reading that, and I don't smoke. I think you're utterly right about procedures, by the way; contextually, that word is so loaded it's a wonder it didn't break in half and fall on the floor...
By Interrobang (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
TollLord@43
Ass long ass you're at it, you might ass well mention whale.to.
By Pareidolius (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
I'm a lurker, usually, but has anyone else heard about MMS (Miracle Mineral Solution)? It is apparently a miracle cure for everything from AIDS to cancer (of course, aren't they all?) except, it's actually just bleach, and it kills people.
What makes me so angry, though, is that the "discoverer" - wow, he gets credit for discovering tap water, basically - thinks he has cured people in Africa of AIDS. And he claims that nausea and vomiting are "part of the healing process" not, you know, poisoning from drinking bleach.
The Sydney Morning Herald (in Aus) has this article -
http://www.smh.com.au/national/deadly-chemical-being-sold-as-miracle-cu…
I'm so mad I could spit.
By TheoDarling (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
The Three Musketeers of Woo have added an addendum:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-larry-dossey/addendum-to-the-mythology…
"The Mythology of Science-Based Medicine" caused quite a stir in the HuffPost community. The authors would like to respond to specific criticisms raised against them, as well as clarify the issue further.
By K (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink
@TheoDarling
I just read the article you linked to. Dear Lord that has to be the very worst thing I have read about in modern quackery!
''It's a bit like drinking concentrated bleach. They've had corrosive injuries: vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhoea,'' the medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, Dr Naren Gunja, said.
And the SOB who peddles this concoction says:
I don't make any claims [in writing] about it to get around [regulations against using it as a medicine*],
I think I am just about as angry as you.
*second brackets are my own for clarification
By Kristen (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
While your argument is solid over all, you've made a pretty serious error in your use of the classic fallacies of reasoning. You attribute a whole series of "false dichotomies" to the various authors you're going after but define false dichotomy incorrectly. A false dichotomy is not a rhetorical device whereby someone tries to legitimate their position by setting it up as the other side of a debate. For example, creationists no logical fallacy when they say, "either the universe came to be by natural or supernatural means." They are correct because there is no third possibility that is allowed for by the laws of non-contradiction and the excluded middle.
One commits the fallacy of false dichotomy when one asserts that there is not a third possibility when in fact there is. When, for example, we are told that we are either closed minded or must accept alternative medicine, we are being offered a false dichotomy. There are several third positions, i.e. I'm open minded but not stupid and etc.
The question of whether or not a dichotomy is true or false is a purely formal one. If a dichotomy is set up which excludes all other possibilities, i.e. either A or not A, then it is true. Otherwise it is false. The dichotomies listed above almost certainly are false, but not in the way Orac describes them to be.
your local logician,
riotnerd
By riotnerd (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
Good one, Joerg--re: the three wooges. Now I will have to steal it. :)
Of course, this is the double standard that woo-ists employ constantly - on the one hand denigrating research they don't like as being corrupted by Big Pharma or other Meanies, while jumping on the bandwagon of any study, no matter how poorly conducted, that seems to give credence to their woo (i.e. small studies in fringe journals,...
Exactly, Dangerous Bacon. This type of double-standard is seen in pretty much all antiscience type positions (e.g. moon landing was a hoax, creationism, global warming--in fact, there's now a webpage detailing the double-standard arguments by these denialists, such as rejecting temp records that show warming as unreliable while trumpeting temp records that show cooling as proof warming has stopped).
It might be useful to start collecting these type of double-standards in other areas that antiscience or alt-reality folks embrace. Their cognitive dissonance won't let them see their errors, but people who are on the fence or looking for answers may find the blatant contradictions in the antiscience group more persuasive than our fact-based arguments.
By Daniel J. Andrews (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
@ 21,
Funny how anecdote and fact seem equivalent in your world....I've often gotten smug,vaguely ignorant repudiation of anything allopathic from chiropracters(not all). But because I don't think everyone should be painted with the same broad brush I would have given you the benefit of the doubt if not for the implied ad hominem;it makes your world of fuzzy inclusivity an ironic joke.
By Rincewind'smuse (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
riotnerd@53:
Orac is right.
Chopra et al. imply that mainstream medicine is a monolithic, completely unified, take-it-or-leave-it whole, and then set up a false dichotomy between this portrayal and their woo. Their argument amounts to "these things about mainstream medicine are bad, therefore our woo is better". This is a false dichotomy which ignores the third (and correct) option of "yes, mainstream medicine isn't perfect, and many aspects badly need reform, however, your alternatives are still a load of bullshit".
By hyperdeath (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
Sometimes I wonder if there is something in the water in this country. How else do I explain the phenomenon of well-trained, well-accomplished physicians (yes, even Chopra was an endocrinologist in India before emigrating to the US) becoming myrmidons of extreme woo-woo, lapping it all up (along with healthy doses of Eastern mysticism), and eschewing all forms of critical and rational thinking in order to peddle their brand of nonsense? What happens here?
By kausik.datta (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
mainstream medicine actually reviews and discards treatments shown to be ineffective, while chiropractors and other alt medders seldom to never throw out useless and dangerous therapies and apparently have never heard of the concept of quality improvement
Imagine if Woo ran Big Pharma... we'd still be dishing out Thalidomide, and blaming all the moms for not believing hard enough in little hands and feet.
By has (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
@has
By DrRachie (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
@ #50 - I blogged about MMS a while back (http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/bioblog/2009/03/more-on-sodium-chlorite-the-mi…); had a couple of the usual 'try it before you diss it' brigade drop by... I'm disgusted that people can make money selling swimming-pool water to others desperate for a cure.
By alison (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink
First comment here.
Came over from a link supplied by a poster at HuffPo. Have been commenting on the total trash (woo) in HuffPo's "living" section for some time. If bad medical advice could fly HuffPo would be an airport! Just had to post here to let you know that just when you think things couldn't get anymore extreme I find this one this morning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/08/the-healing-power-of-birt_n_41…
By kill_13 (not verified) on 10 Jan 2010 #permalink
Moreover, they don't discuss relief of angina symptoms.
Or any symptoms; quality of life doesn't really count as medicine to them, apparently. My nerve damage that cannot be cured* disagrees.
I've had people suggest copper bracelets and magnets as "cures". I find managing the pain with the help of Big Pharma suits me just fine.
*As in, it's not going to go away. I can make it hurt a lot less, thanks to science.
By attack_laurel (not verified) on 11 Jan 2010 #permalink
Inspired by the above, I've posted this spoof image for you to use as you may wish:
http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12546
By HalfMooner (not verified) on 11 Jan 2010 #permalink
@riotnerd #53
What if the universe did not come to be at all, and simply always was/is/will be? Of course, our particular spacetime may have an origin, but the universe as a whole might not.
By Colin Day (not verified) on 12 Jan 2010 #permalink
It's so amusing that commentators here have so little facts to defend allopathic medicine that all they can do is hurl childish insults at the 'woo'. All I can figure is that allopathic doctors are so afraid of alternative medicine that they have to berate it using hyperbole and childish name-calling. It really sounds like a case of "The lady doth protest too much, methinks".
By The Dissenter (not verified) on 14 Jan 2010 #permalink
Fantastic job presenting the facts in support of alternative medicine there, bucko.
Pot...I'd like you to meet this kettle...
By Dissent? (not verified) on 14 Jan 2010 #permalink
@cheri - Wow. Because you have a chronic illness and were using the best possible medicine to treat it, you were deemed "married to your illness." I can't imagine how furious that must have made you.
But your comments bring something to light that alt-med types don't want us to know, and that is that they honestly cannot deal with the fact that illness is a part of life. Human beings, by virtue of being alive, will suffer from illnesses, to one degree or another. Modern science-based medicine tackles this head-on and looks for cures, with the understanding that medicine sometimes cannot save a life or even improve it. There are times when a honest physician will have to say to someone, "There's nothing I can do, and you are going to have to find a way to deal with this."
Woomeisters, on the other hand, are in such denial that they insist diets cure autism, crystals cure depression, and you can keep yourself from every getting sick by having positive thoughts. The alt-med types are horribly uncomfortable with sickness, death, imperfections, and the general human condition. They lack the character to understand that not everything in life is fixable. They'll never advertise this, but there it is.
By Kimberly (not verified) on 15 Jan 2010 #permalink
I find it hilarious that at the the top of this page is an ad for Chakras Healing Dot Com. Asking "want to find out which of your chakras is weak?" Seriously? Two steps forward, one step back!
By Kelly M Bray (not verified) on 11 Oct 2011 #permalink
Turning out the lights and moving on: Goodbye, old ScienceBlogs blog, hello new blog
Today is the last day that ScienceBlogs will exist. Sometime today the site will go into read-only mode. A few days later, it will disappear completely from the Internet. It's a sad thing to contemplate after all these years. Whatever happened later, I will always be grateful for the start in…
A quick update on the migration to a new domain
Here's a brief update on the move, announced last week. Things are progressing, and most of my old material has been transferred to the new blog, which is located at respectfulinsolence.com. Of course, there are still some things to tweak and fix, which is why, given how insanely busy this week is…
A change is gonna come. Respectful Insolence is moving.
Well, QEDCon is over, and this box of blinky lights is on its way back across the pond to its home in the US, having had an excellent time imbibing skepticism from its (mostly) British and European partners in skepticism. Before I left, I made a somewhat cryptic remark about "major changes" to this…
And the box of blinky lights has arrived in Manchester for QEDCon
As you probably noticed, I didn't manage a post yesterday. Nor did I manage one today, other than this. That's because I was busy preparing for QEDCon, where I will be on a panel and giving a talk, and, of course, putting together my talk. As I write this, I'm horrendously jet lagged; so I probably…
On the "integration" of quackery into the medical school curriculum
QEDCon is fast approaching (indeed, I can't believe I have to leave for Manchester tomorrow night), and because my talk there will be about the phenomenon of "integrative medicine," I've been thinking a lot about it. As I put together my slides, I can't help but see my talk evolving to encompass…
Pouches, pockets and sacs in the heads, necks and chests of mammals, part I: primates
I've mentioned laryngeal and tracheal anatomy a few times on Tet Zoo (see the links at the very bottom for more). Well, time to look at it again. It's (relatively) little known that a long list of mammal species possess an assortment of 'pouches', pocket-like structures and pneumatic sacs and spaces within their throats, skulls, chests, and sometimes on their palates. Some of these are air-…
Weekend Diversion: An Optical Illusion
Starts With A Bang! is off to a great start; each the past three days we have topped the 100 visitor mark, bringing our total number of unique visitors up to 1,413! I'm going to attempt to start a new tradition here of making a weekend post on a topic that I just find neat, and share it with you. This first Weekend Diversion is an optical illusion about color. Take a look at the image below:…
There's Water on Mercury, and EVERY World Like it!
"You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there." -Edwin Louis Cole Our Solar System is -- at least from our perspective -- the most well-studied system of planets, moons, asteroids and comets in the entire Universe. Image credit: Olaf Frohn, from earlier in 2012. And in this system, the closest planet to our Sun, Mercury, was also one of the most poorly understood planets…


text:
package se.lagrummet.rinfo.base.rdf;

public class DescriptionException extends RuntimeException {
    DescriptionException(String msg) {
        super(msg);
    }
    DescriptionException(Throwable e) {
        super(e);
    }
    DescriptionException(String msg, Throwable e) {
        super(msg, e);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Bluebird Network Appoints Carla Cooper as Chief Financial Officer
Industry Veteran Will Leverage Three Decades of Insight to Drive New Growth.
(1888PressRelease) November 05, 2019 - COLUMBIA, MISSOURI — Bluebird Network, LLC, a provider of fiber transport and internet services and owner of an underground data center, welcomes Carla Cooper as its new Chief Financial Officer. Cooper will play a key role in the strategic direction of Bluebird and will oversee all aspects of finance. She is a versatile leader bringing three decades of experience across various industries and is dedicated to supporting the vision, values and culture that leads to success.
Cooper previously served Fidelity Communications Co. as the Vice President of Finance/CFO and Director of Regulatory Accounting. She provided oversight for finance and revenue planning and was part of a dynamic team that delivered strategic direction to Fidelity.
"Carla comes to Bluebird with many years of experience as a CPA and CFO, and she is excited to help Bluebird embark on its new strategic infrastructure platform. Her experience with Fidelity and her prior knowledge of Bluebird make her the perfect candidate to join our executive team and help to continue our success and growth into the foreseeable future," said Michael Morey, President and CEO of Bluebird Network.
Cooper received her B.S. in Accounting from the University of Missouri - St. Louis and holds a current CPA License in the State of Missouri. She is a member of the Missouri Society of CPAs and the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). She also serves on the Board of Directors of EMPAQ Group Inc. and the Sullivan Educational Foundation. To learn more about Bluebird Network, please visit bluebirdnetwork.com.
About Bluebird Network
Since 1999, Bluebird Network, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, has provided internet and fiber transport services to Carriers and Enterprises in Missouri, Illinois and the surrounding states. In 2014, an underground data center was acquired and created Bluebird Underground, adding a data center facility to the Bluebird suite of services. The network now has over 9,300 fiber route miles of high-speed broadband and fiber-optic connections. The Bluebird fiber network also has over 135 Points of Presence (POP) sites spanning the Midwest, including the major cities of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Tulsa, Peoria, Rockford, Bloomington, Normal and the Quad Cities. To learn more, please visit bluebirdnetwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Media Contact for Bluebird Network:
iMiller Public Relations
Email: pr ( @ ) imillerpr dot com
Contact for Bluebird Network:
Sue Schaefer
Bluebird Network
Sue.Schaefer ( @ ) BluebirdNetwork dot com
SMi Group Announces its New Space and Satellite Division at Global MilSatCom 2019 by Smi Group
Adaptiva's Evolve VM Now Scans for Every Vulnerability in the National Vulnerability Database Within 15 Minutes by Adaptiva
Bluebird Network Appoints Carla Cooper as Chief Financial Officer by Imiller Public Relations
Become Better and Live a Healthy Lifestyle with Lucas Robak's "Natural & Organic Healing: Your Ultimate Guide to Health & Wellness" by Ahathat
Leslie Kushner, Counsel, Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz LLP to Speak at The Knowledge Group's Practical Post-Alice Guidance LIVE Webcast by The Knowledge Group, Llc
221 Harbor Hill

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This webpage is a personal project to help me play Scrabble, WordFeud, Words with Friends and Wordscrapper, but feel free to use it. It also works well on iPhone and Android handsets.
Sorry if a word is not in the dictionary, or when your tried to play it you were challenged. I found the words online and some games might use slight variations.


... An Innovative, Unique, Systematic, User-friendly & Efficient Logistics Software !!
Through the online iMBW, iReceipt, iWarehousing and Distribution System, you can get real time status information on your shipment.
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A full set accounting system, link up to MBW operation system.
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MBW brings a whole new perspective to the business of "e-commerce". Our designers and engineers combine leading edge design with high-level technical expertise. We provide a one-stop logistics, warehouse management, customs, and financial management system. An Innovative, Unique, Systematic, User-friendly & Efficient Logistics Software!


text:
Sochi closing ceremony pokes fun at Olympic ring malfunction (PHOTOS)
Performers form the Olympic rings during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, February 23, 2014. (Reuters / Pawel Kopczynski) © Reuters
Organizers of the Winter Olympics closing ceremony showed their light-hearted side on Sunday, poking fun at the ring opening failure that went viral after the opening ceremony.
At the beginning of the closing ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium, five groups of dancers formed the five Olympic rings. In an obvious reference to the highly publicized glitch that happened two weeks prior – when one of the rings failed to open at the Games' opening – one group of dancers purposefully did not complete the opening of the fifth ring right away.
The creative director of the Sochi Games, Konstantin Ernst, even made a t-shirt to commemorate the event, hinting that the mishap was the unofficial symbol of the Sochi Games. Just hours before the closing ceremony began, Ernst showed reporters his t-shirt with four Olympic rings and one snowflake (in reference to the snowflake that never expanded into a ring at the opening ceremony).
Ernst said at a press conference that it became apparent to organizers that a joke about the mechanical failure needed to be carried out at the closing ceremony.
"We had to laugh about it, we had a few hundreds of high-tech tricks that worked, but one of the five most easiest didn't," Ernst said. "I think that every Olympics should have an unofficial brand on top of the official one: now both Vancouver and Sochi have one."
Most touching and emotional moments of Sochi 2014 Olympic Games
Hot. Cool. Yours. Fin! Sochi Olympics close with breathtaking show
True Olympic Heroes that we'll definitely remember from Sochi 2014 Games


Fog blanketed St Mary's on Sunday morning, causing round three of the World Pilot Gig Championships to be cancelled. Fortunately it lifted in time for the finals to take place but with more fog forecast it was a race to get everyone to the start line and away on time.
First to go out were the ladies, with Caradon Ladies A, Help for Heroes' affiliated club, at the top of the table in Ann Glanville. On board was Kate Bourn, who has been voluntarily coaching our crew since 2016 and has recently taken up a post as Sports Recovery Officer in the Recovery Centre in Plymouth. Defending two back to back titles, the ladies powered through to claim their third World Championship. A quick celebration and Kate was jumping ship to head back out to the start line to cox the Help for Heroes team. That's dedication!
In the men's final, first off the line in group M were two of the Help for Heroes team of nine, Dave Jones and Brian Playfield, who had answered a plea from Cape Cornwall Gig Club for two rowers to make up their numbers over the weekend. They put their everything into the row and drove the gig, Brisons, over the line to claim the win for their group.
Army Reservist Dave Jones, sustained severe injuries to one eye and suffered hearing loss in a blast in the field. He was with the gig rowing team in the Isles of Scilly in 2016 and has returned to compete with the crew this year. After competing in the Veterans' Race with Help for Heroes on Friday evening he then moved over to help Cape Cornwall for the Men's Race.
"The offer came up to row for another club because they were short, so we went for it. It was another opportunity to get more race experience. It's different learning how to row how they row rather than how we row but it's good.
In the final of group I, Help for Heroes sat in eighth place at the end of their last heat. Looking to climb up the ranks, they started strong and held their own out in front. The pack soon split with the front six pulling away. Our crew in Valiant were in the thick of it, remaining in the top three for the majority of the race.
In the last few moments, a rush from the group made for a close finish over the line, with Help for Heroes in fourth, moving up four places after a phenomenal row. The team finished the Championship in position 100 of 148 gigs. Although a few places behind last year in numbers, there were 17 more gigs on the start line so on balance, the crew brought their best and it showed in the final result.
Former Royal Navy Commando Simon Grayson served for 18 years, initially as a medic prior to Commando training, before being medically discharged in 2016.
He suffers from a genetic condition, Haemochromatosis, which causes severe lethargy and requires regular hospital treatment. He also suffers from anxiety and depression and has serious hip problems due to osteoarthritis causing pain when sitting or standing for long periods.
Osteoarthritis forced Simon to give up his secondary career choice as a chef as he couldn't continue doing it physically, which has had a negative effect on his mental health. It also limits him playing with his children or going for long walks with his dog.
Simon is the last of the original Help for Heroes gig crew, from the 2015 season, and has taken part in three of their four seasons to date. In the season he missed, he was having hip surgery.
"When I'm gig rowing, apart from being quite out of breath and feeling exhausted, it's quite an exhilarating feeling," said Simon, "especially when you're racing against crews and being competitive. A lot of these crews have been established through generations; mums and dads and uncles and aunties; and for four years down the line I think we're doing really well.
"Gig rowing gives me something to do. Other than doing jobs around the house I don't really do a great deal else so three times a week, I get out the house with like-minded people and go away to regattas, and it's great.
Simon recognises that even in just a few years the team has changed from having more rowers with physical injuries to seeing many with mental health wounds taking part.
"We had a lot more visibly injured personnel in the initial crew and now we've got more with Hidden Wounds from a very similar background, and work off each other as there is a real good team spirit and camaraderie.
Taking part in an activity like gig rowing has a wealth of benefits in so many other areas of a wounded serviceman or veterans life.
"The benefits in this are huge. It's not just for the service personnel who are in direct receipt of the trips away and the activities organised, the positive effect that that then takes on to their families and the wider service community.
With many of the gig rowing team committed to continuing with training to support their recovery journeys, and a full season of events ahead, on the water is the place to be.


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"The borrowing figures for September were lower than expected, and the overall position in the first six months of the current financial year is better than many believed it would be. With UK economic growth likely to remain much weaker over the next few quarters than the OBR predicted in March, it is still possible that the government will overshoot its borrowing target for the year. In our September forecast we predicted a small excess of £5bn, but such a deviation should not give undue concern given the state of the economy.


I am a peaceful, honest, sincere, empathetic, positive, reliable and loyal lady. I have a good sense of humor, I love life and people. I don't like scandals and I prefer to solve all problems in a peaceful way. I can listen, understand and I am ready for compromise. I believe that relationship is always mutual work, but if there is Love, this work becomes pleasant and enjoyable.
I would love to meet a loving, caring, honest, devoted and intelligent man for buidling a strong happy family.


text:
PROJECT JURISPRUDENCE
Credit Transactions
Persons Law
Effect if declared insolvent
If one has been declared insolvent, he cannot just dispose of his properties existing at the time of the commencement of the proceedings for insolvency. No payments of property or credit can be made to him. (Albano, citing Sections 18 and 24, Act No. 1956)
Section 1 of Act No. 1956 provides:
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Insolvency Law, and in accordance with its provisions every insolvent debtor may be permitted to suspend payments or be discharged from his debts and liabilities.
Under the head of "Voluntary Insolvency," among other things, Section 18 of the Act provides:
Upon the granting of said order all civil proceedings pending against the said insolvent shall be stayed, When a receiver is appointed, or in assignee chosen, as provided in this Act, the sheriff shall thereupon deliver to such receiver or assignee, as the case may be, all the property, assets, and belongings of the insolvent which have come into his possession.
Under the head of "Involuntary Insolvency," Section 21 of the Act provides:
Upon the filing of such creditors' petition, the court or a judge thereof shall issue an order requiring such debtor to show cause, at a time and place to be fixed by said court or judge, why he should not be adjudged an insolvent debtor; and at the same time, or thereafter, upon good cause shown therefor, said court or judge may make an order forbidding the payment of any debts, and the delivery of any property belonging to such debtor to him or to any other person for his use or benefit or the transfer of any property by him.
Section 24 provides:
[xxx] Provided, That in the affidavit of the insolvent, touching his property and its disposition, he shall not be required to swear that he has not made any fraudulent preference or committed any other act in conflict with the provisions of this Act; but he may do so if desires. Said order shall further direct the sheriff of the province or city where the insolvency petition is filed, or the receiver, if one has been therefore appointed, to take possession of and safely keep, until the appointment of an assignee, all the deeds, vouchers, books of account, papers, notes, bills, bonds and securities of the debtor, and all his real and personal property, estate and effects, except such as may be by law exempt from execution. Said order shall further forbid the payment to the debtor of any debts due to him, and the delivery to the debtor, or to any person for him, of any property belonging to him, and the transfers of any property by him, and shall further appoint a time and place for a meeting of the creditors to choose an assignee of the estate [xxx].
And that "upon the granting of said order, all civil proceedings pending against the said insolvent shall be stayed."
Section 32 of the Act provides:
As soon as an assignee is elected or appointed and qualified, the clerk of the court shall, by an instrument under his hand and seal of the court, assign and convey to the assignee all the real and personal property, estate, and effects of the debtor with all his deeds, books, and papers relating thereto, and such assignment shall relate back to the commencement of the proceedings in insolvency, and shall relate back to the acts upon which the adjudication was founded, and by operation of law shall vest the title to all such property, estate, and effects in the assignee, although the same is then attached on mesne process, as the property of the debtor. Such assignment shall operate to vest in the assignee all of the estate of the insolvent debtor no exempt by law from execution. It shall also dissolve any attachment levied within one month next preceding the commencement of the insolvency proceedings and vacate and set aside any judgment entered in any action commenced within thirty days immediately prior to the commencement of insolvency proceedings and shall vacate and set aside any execution issued thereon and shall vacate and set aside any judgment entered by default or consent of the debtor within thirty days immediately prior to the commencement of the insolvency proceedings.
The assignee shall have the right to recover all the estate, debts, and effects of said insolvent. If, at the time of the commencement of proceedings in insolvency, an action is pending in the name of the debtor, for the recovery of a debt or other thing which might or ought to pass to the assignee by the assignment, the assignee shall be followed and admitted to prosecute the action, in like manner and with like effect as if it had been originally commenced by him. If there are any rights of action in favor of the insolvent for damages, on any account, for which an action is not pending, the assignee shall have the right to prosecute the same with the same effect as the insolvent might have done himself in no proceedings in insolvency had been instituted. If any action or proceeding in which the insolvent is defendant is pending at the time of the adjudication, the assignee may defend the same in the same manner and with like effect as it might have been defended by the insolvent. Any suit prosecuted or defended by the assignee, a certified copy of the assignment made to him shall be conclusive evidence of his authority to sue or defend.
When a creditor has a mortgage, or pledge of real or personal property of the debtor, or a lien thereon, for securing the payment of a debt owing to him from the debtor or an attachment or execution on property of the debtor duly recorded and not dissolved under this Act, he shall be admitted as a creditor for the balance of the debt only, after deducting the value of such property, such value to be ascertained by agreement between him and the receiver, if any, and if no receiver, then upon such sum as the court or a judge thereof may decide to be fair and reasonable, before the election of an assignee, or by a sale thereof, to be made in such manner as the court or judge thereof shall direct; or the creditor may release or convey his claim to the receiver, if any, or if no receiver then to the sheriff, before the election of an assignee, or to the assignee if an assignee has been elected, upon property, and be admitted to prove his whole debt. If the value of the property exceeds the sum for which it is so held as security, the assignee may release to the creditor the debtor's right of redemption thereon on receiving such excess; or he may sell the property, subject to the claim of the creditor thereon, and in either case the assignee and creditor, respectively, shall execute all deeds and writings necessary or proper to consummate the transaction [xxx].
Credit Transactions Persons Law
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text:
Kościół świętego Antoniego z Padwy – rzymskokatolicki kościół parafialny należący do dekanatu Bielawa diecezji świdnickiej.

Jest to świątynia poewangelicka wzniesiona w latach 1871 - 1875, restaurowana w latach 1972-1973, wybudowano ją na planie krzyża w stylu neogotyckim. Od strony zachodniej znajduje się strzelista wieża posiadająca smukłą iglicę hełmu i jednakową sygnaturką. Kościół jest otynkowany, narożniki i łuki otworów okiennych są wyłożone cegłą. Sterczyny i pinakle są wykonane z piaskowca. Okna zostały zaprojektowane w dwóch poziomach, z tym że dolny rząd składa się z małych okien bliźniaczych, górny - z dużych i wysokich konstrukcji. Do absyd jest dostawiona pięcioboczna, dużo niższa zakrystia, znajdująca się między szkarpami. Na miejscu tympanonu w wejściowym portalu jest umieszczona nieduża rozeta. Wnętrze jest podzielone na trzy nawy i cztery przęsła, posiada transept i empory między filarami. Wyposażenie budowli jest skromne, pochodzi z czasu budowy. Tylko barokowe antepedia ołtarzy bocznych zostały wykonane w  XVIII wieku.

Przypisy

Kościół
Świątynie pod wezwaniem św. Antoniego z Padwy
Dawne kościoły protestanckie w województwie dolnośląskim
Zabytkowe kościoły w powiecie dzierżoniowskim
Architektura neogotycka w województwie dolnośląskim
Kościoły rzymskokatolickie w Pieszycach
Budynki w Polsce oddane do użytku w 1875

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In a telephonic conversation with his Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Putin said that the strikes launched by the US and its allies against Syria had seriously damaged the chances of achieving a peaceful resolution in the Syria conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday issued a stern warning to the US and western countries of global "chaos" if they attack Syria again.
Referring to the US-led strikes in Syria, Putin said, "If such actions committed in violation of the U.N. Charter continue, then it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations."
The warning came a day after Donald Trump's statement that the US was "locked and loaded" to strike Syria again if the country carries out new chemical attacks.
In a telephonic conversation with his Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Putin said that the strikes launched by the US and its allies against Syria had seriously damaged the chances of achieving a peaceful resolution in the Syria conflict, according to a Kremlin statement.
The ties between the US and Russia were at standstill for the last one year and further deteriorated after the US-led strikes in three Syrian cities in response to a suspected deadly chemical attack in the town of Douma.
Russia took the matter to the United Nations and brought the UN Security Council vote seeking condemnation of the US-led strikes in Syria. However, the vote was rejected by the council.
During the UN Security Council emergency meeting held on Saturday, Russia and US envoys indulged in a bitter exchange.
Russia's UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia accused the US and its allies of "hooliganism" and "cynical disdain" after they acted without waiting for the results of an investigation into the Douma incident.


text:
Seven Ways Climate Change Is Getting Personal in Ontario
From hiking to swimming, sipping to shipping, how shifting weather patterns are changing lives in the province.
By Joshua Rapp Learn 12 Nov 2015 | TheTyee.ca
Joshua Rapp Learn is an environmental journalist based in Washington, D.C. You can find his work in Scientific American, Canadian Geographic, the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Tyee, and other publications in the U.S. and Canada. He has explored in more than 50 countries. Twitter: @JoshuaLearn1.
Ontario storm chaser Mark Robinson says swings in weather have become wilder in recent years. Photo by Mark Robinson.
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Climate change is hitting home across Ontario, whether you love hiking, skating, swimming, or sipping a craft wine from the Niagara region's vineyards. It's affecting jobs, too, including in tourism, shipping and energy sectors. Here are seven ways climate change is getting personal in the province.
1. New storm norm
Mark Robinson has no doubt that climate change is increasingly playing havoc with Ontario's weather. He ought to know. He chases storms for a living.
The Weather Channel meteorologist and StormHunters personality says swings in weather have been getting wilder over the 15 years he's been monitoring tornados and extreme storms.
"There are more of a clustering of events rather than having a bunch of events all over the place. It can be really quiet for a while, then you end up with these insane days when you're running around like crazy."
Robinson says one factor intensifying the storms he chases in the winter is the larger ice covers on the Great Lakes. Ice cover will keep the number of squalls down, but when they happen, they happen big. Last November, parts of Buffalo were hit with two meters of snow. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen."
2. Time for new vines
The weather is getting to Richard Kocsis, who helps run his family's Mountain Road winery in the Niagara region. "The cold winters have killed a lot of vines. The wet summers have caused a lot of fungus."
Mountain Road aims to produce around 2,000 cases of wine yearly, but "yields are down tremendously because of all the death over the winter and the rot in the summer time." All that rain and snow have dampened tourist visits, too.
Climate change is changing the types of wine Mountain Road makes, Kocsis says. His vineyard has been switching to hybrid grapes like Baco noir, Vidal and Marechal Foch, which do better in harsh climates.
"The hybrids are surviving everything," Kocsis says with relief. "They're very popular, and the Vidal is used to make ice wine."
3. Ice as infrastructure
One way to beat the traffic in Ottawa during the winter has been to strap on your skates and hit the frozen Rideau Canal that runs from the Hartwell Locks at Carlton University through Dow's Lake to the Ottawa River. But changing temperature patterns mean skating to work is less a sure bet.
That reality set in three winters ago, when February was the only month cold enough to sustain Dow's Lake Pavilion's outdoor rink and skate rental business. Last season swung hard the other way.
Skate commuting on thin ice? Ottawa canal photo via Shutterstock.
"It was pretty unseasonably cold. It was like minus 40 for it seemed 70 days straight," says Aaron Ciok, supervisor at Dow's Lake Pavilion.
That put skating commuters back in business, but the weather was so cold it kept away many tourists, chilling his company's bottom line.
4. Locked up lakes
For William Hryb, the effects of climate change on shipping routes in the Upper Great Lakes "all boils down to a good old-fashion crap-shoot."
Hryb runs Thunder Bay Shipping, Inc. He says shipping on the Great Lakes usually starts around late March and ends in late December. The Welland Canal that connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie is closed for part of the winter for mandatory maintenance, and the "opening of navigation" periods have always varied by a few days.
But two years ago, severe ice conditions in Lake Superior pushed the opening of shipping routes back to early May.
Whether the route is open or not, the conditions out on the lake can make people in the industry leery. "Any way you look at it, ship owners are reluctant to put their vessels at risk due to ice conditions, which can vary from year to year," Hryb said.
Late openings certainly have an impact on business, he says. "Revenues are affected, causing operators to lay off personnel."
5. Closed for swimming
Blue-green algae is nasty stuff. The bacteria it carries can cause neurological problems and seizures among humans and dogs. While blooms are mostly caused by increased amounts of phosphates from agricultural runoff, warmer water also helps the toxic scum grow.
David Colby, a medical officer for the Chatham-Kent Health Unit and professor of microbiology and immunology at Western University, is grateful for last year's cold winter. But he worries about overall warming trends. "We haven't had an issue this year but we did have issues last year, and two years ago it was really bad."
His unit closely watches local beaches. "When the water is a pea-soup green, a lot of people wouldn't want to swim in it anyway, but we do issue an advisory," he says.
The U.S. and Canada are putting into effect regulations to lower phosphates in the Great Lakes. But Colby still worries that a warming climate will bring more poisonous, blue-green ooze: "The health of our people is dependent on the health of our ecosystem."
6. Getting ticked
Chatham-Kent's medical officer, David Colby, is watching with trepidation another growing health threat tied to warming temperatures: Lyme disease.
The illness, which is carried by the blacklegged tick and can be fatal, has steadily increased in the area over the past few years, affecting people and dogs.
Tick invasions increase in a warming climate. Tick photo via Shutterstock.
Colby blames a climate more easily tolerated by the cold-sensitive insects. Warmer weather may also cause animals like deer, voles and mice to proliferate -- all of which can be carriers of the disease.
"The possibilities for being invaded increase with warming," says Colby. His unit advises people to tuck in their pants legs or just not walk through heavy vegetation.
7. Windfall of jobs
In Ontario, climate change is fuelling the wind power industry.
"On average we've increased exponentially over the past 10 years," says Brandy Giannetta, the regional director of the Canadian Wind Energy Association's Ontario section.
The first utility-scale windmills came online in the province in 2006 and now Ontario produces more than 4,000 megawatts. "It's created Ontario a leadership role within the sector. We haven't had the growth in any other area of Canada that we've had in Ontario."
Part of that is due to Ontario's decision in late 2013 to phase out coal production to counter climate change. So many new wind projects has allowed the industry to make cheaper windmills and take advantage of advances in technology.
Giannetta says the boom has meant thousands of hours of work in construction and maintenance. "We've come a long way, but I think there's still a lot to be done."


Multi-award winning street theatre and Cabaret from this classic yet unique double act.
Richard Garaghty and Goronwy Thom are both seasoned veterans of show business. Together they create successful shows in almost any situation and amaze and amuse audiences with and without language. They have toured across the World with their international show, creating pop up shows at festivals from South Africa to Lebanon, from Switzerland to Canada and to many, many others.
Having begun his performing career on the hallowed cobbles of Covent Garden aged just 18, he has honed his hugely likeable unique performance style to huge audiences in the most famous street theatre venue in the World. He has also performed at festivals and cabarets across the world including at The Cape Town Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Glastonbury, and many others.
He has appeared regularly on TV and radio as an actor and has been seen in several Doctor Who episodes, as a Robot in CBBC favourite Mission 2110, as a belly dancing orang-utan on Egyptian Television, as a gorilla with Dom Joly in Dubai, with David Attenburgh as a Dinosaur, The lead in indie movie hit YONDERLAND and in the most recent Star Wars film with JJ Abrahams.
He is also a founder member of Slightly Fat Features the comedy troupe bringing variety back to the 21st century. Touring Worldwide with the smash hit award winning show.
Hailing from Sheffield where he started on the stage in Ibsen age 4 at The Crucible. He packed in serious theatre soon after and ran away to the circus school- to Circus Space in London, now called the posh National Centre for Circus. There he began compering cabarets across the country and started to perform street theatre at Covent Garden and across the UK including at Glastonbury, The Millennium Dome and The National Theatre. He also trained at the theatre school Bretton Hall during this time.
He has since starred in and Hosted MAny shows across the world at many major theatre and comedy festivals. He has Headlined on the most famous ocean liners across the globe as a solo act- HE WAS ONE OF THE FINAL PERFORMERS TO PLAY THE FAMOUS QE2 STAGE.
He has done street shows from Romania to Lebanon. in 2007 HE CREATED SLIGHTLY FAT FEATURES a comedy troupe who create variety shows for the 21st Century. The troupe have appeared at The Edinburgh Fringe, Leicester Square Theatre, The Roundhouse, Bristol Tobacco Factory and won awards at the Great Yorkshire Fringe and at Montreal Just for Laughs. They have also featured on Radio 4 and ITV.


text:
Washoe County Republican Party
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City of Sparks
WARNING! Making Nevadans pay the nation's highest average sales tax won't fix our schools
by Mark Leonard | Mar 10, 2020 | Education, Legislative Issues, Taxation
This article was written by Michael Schaus of Nevada Policy Research Institute and published on March 3, 2020. https://www.npri.org/commentary/another-billion-dollar-tax-hike-education/ Nevadans deserve an education system that actually works for students, not merely...
RGJ tracker: Here's who's running for federal, state and local offices in Northern Nevada
by Valerie Michael | Mar 3, 2020 | Candidates
Nevada's 10-day candidate filing James DeHaven and Anjeanette Damon, Reno Gazette Journal Published 1:47 p.m. PT March 2, 2020 | Updated 6:07 p.m. PT March 2, 2020 Hundreds of candidates are expected to file for dozens of federal, state and local elected offices...
NEVADA, WASHOE COUNTY and the REPUBLICAN PARTY
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