Monday, November 21, 2005

Paranoid?

Here's the latest from Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council:
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is urging that decisions on vaccines to prevent HPV (a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer) be "based on science not politics," and she warns ominously that "recent press reports indicate that certain organizations are beginning to mobilize against the vaccine." The senator shouldn't believe everything she reads. Despite the apparent determination of the media to paint FRC as "anti-vaccine," we have declared clearly that FRC "welcomes the news that vaccines are in development" for human papillomavirus (HPV).
Let me paraphrase the dialectic, as represented here:
Scientists: We can maybe prevent HPV. Some groups: No, if we prevent HPV, then teenagers will have sex! Hillary Clinton: Some groups are against this vaccine. That's bad. Tony Perkins: I never said I was against the vaccine!
Perkins is speaking truthfully here, but wouldn't the sensible thing to do be to interpret Hillary as referring to the horrific and deplorable right-wing groups who are opposed to administering the vaccine to all girls?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

FDA

Lindsay Beyerstein points to the FDA getting caught red-handed.
The non-partisan GAO published a report yesterday saying that FDA officials rejected Plan B's application to be sold over-the-counter months before the scientific review was completed.
Shocking, and yet somehow, hardly a surprise. Sorry I haven't been around much here lately. My philosophy life and my light opera life are taking up lots and lots of my time, leaving 'social' and 'other' (including things I'd blog about here) with an even smaller piece of the pie than usual. After this week, I may be around here more.