Page Nine

Bad Vaccine Safe

The lamestream media told you:

"More than a million doses of a common vaccine given to babies as young as 2 months were being recalled because of contamination risks, but the top U.S. health officials said it was not a health threat," according to a story circulated by the Associated Press.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Why a million doses of vaccine would be recalled if it was not a health threat was unexplained, and reporters failed to ask the top U.S. health official.

The AP did report that because of the "inconvenience," the Merck production line will be shut down for nine months. "It's likely that there's going to be a shortage of this product," a Merck spokeslady said. Shortages typically trigger price increases.

Tags: Merck, vaccines

Doctors Cheer Windfall

The lamestream media told you:
Government authorities warned today that, with an aging baby boomer generation, as much as 20 cents of every dollar could be spent on health care in the U.S. by the end of the next decade.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
Health care officials were ecstatic on news today that as much as 20% of the entire U.S. economy could go into their pockets within ten years. “The best part is that most of it will just be given to us by the government, which runs the system and controls the insurance industry -- which it plans to make mandatory. Consumers, who will pay the bills through forced taxation, could not be reached for comment.

Tags: insurance, medical expenses, taxation

More Mammograms Please

The lamestream media told you:
"While once-a-year mammograms are urged for older women, women who haven't reached their 50th birthday should feel free to make up their own minds about whether to get annual exams, according to new guidelines from the American College of Physicians," reports Lisa Krieger in the San Jose Mercury News on April 3.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
"Letting women make up their own minds is so radical and dangerous the idea should be abandoned immediately," according to Counterintutitve Man. "The College of Physicians should be ashamed of themselves for such a preposterous suggestion, clearly only meant to increase the numbers of exams they sell to line their pockets with filthy lucre from unsuspecting patients," he said.

Correcting Counterintuitive Man, the Uninvited Ombudsman notes that physicians don't sell exams, they just bill the government (or government-sanctioned insurance monopolies), which takes money by force from the public, to give to doctors.

Tags: mammograms, Lisa Krieger

Racial Teen Pregnancies

The lamestream media told you:
“Even as teen pregnancy rates have declined across the country over the past decade, the teen pregnancy rates among Latinos remains high,” reports Gannett’s number two paper (after USA Today), The Arizona Republic.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
Teen pregnancy rates among Latinos are not remaining high, they are increasing dramatically, according to the chart printed with the story. Why reporters would whitewash the text when the actual numbers are provided is not known. The suggestion that Americans can’t understand numbers cannot possibly be correct.

Race-based reporting is now an accepted cultural norm and form of diversity for multiculti lamestream reporters.

Tags: The Arizona Republic, teen pregnancies, Latinos

Two Outperforms Three

The lamestream media told you:
A review of records conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics found a decline in cancer deaths for the second year in a row. This is "real progress" according to wire service reports that ran nationwide, "confirming that a corner has been turned."

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
While a two-year drop in this medical field is heralded as tremendous progress, last year's announcement that it was only the third hottest year on record was featured as a terrible sign that global warming is rampant.

Why a two-year decrease is good but a three-year low is bad was not explained. Critics charge the news media is inconsistent because it follows a pre-set agenda, regardless of facts.

New reports now claim last year was the hottest on record. A reason for the discrepancy was not provided, and the discrepancy was not even mentioned.

News that cancer treatment is improving is good.

Tags: cancer, National Center for Health Statistics, global warming

Bias Becomes Blatant

The lamestream media told you:
"Democrats think the government should leverage Medicare's 43 million beneficiaries to win steep discounts from drug manufacturers. Republicans, ever wary of big government, think competition among private drug plans would keep prices down," writes Tony Pugh for the McClatchy Newspaper chain, one of the nation's media giants.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The insidious nature of media bias has gotten worse, as reporters find new ways to subtly twist stories to avoid detection.

"If you're going to use a disparaging phrase against one party ("Republicans, ever wary of big government"), you should use something similar against both ("Democrats, rarely shy about using the coercive power of government") the Uninvited Ombudsman says. "Better yet, don't use them at all," he says.

The Uninvited Ombudsman campaigns against blatant news spin, bias and deception, an unpopular position in the "news" industry that wins him few friends there.

"And if you're going to use positive present tense ("to win steep discounts") for one plan, don't use doubtful conditionals for the other ("think competition would"), unless your goal is to be biased, and mislead gullible readers into believing your world view is correct and should dominate.

Contrary to some unflattering reports, The Uninvited Ombudsman is a moderate.

Tags: Medicare, Tony Pugh

Malnutrition Precedes Obesity

The lamestream media told you:
Toddlers who are overweight have a significantly higher chance of being obese at age 12, the Associated Press reports. The old notion that childhood chubbiness burns off with age is no longer true. Americans in general are suffering from obesity, with the southern states the fattest part of the nation, and certain Native American tribal groups close behind.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
It wasn't very long ago that malnutrition was the focal point of food news, with massive government programs to feed the poor and disadvantaged masses appearing almost daily. Endless public funds were poured into grocery programs to prevent starvation in the south, Appalachia, inner cities, classrooms, and impoverished rural areas. The reason for the sudden shift, though dramatic, is unknown, but expected to continue.

Humans Aging Slower

The lamestream media told you:
The New York Times reports that humans are aging slower. One hundred years ago, people in their 40s expected to begin developing chronic diseases. It is "one of the most striking shifts in human existence: a change from small, relatively weak and sickly people to humans who are so robust that their ancestors seem almost unrecognizable."

It is "a form of evolution," says reporter Gina Kolata, who goes on to say, "The difference does not involve genes," without explaining how that could possibly square with any theory of evolution. The story asks why this is happening, and the only possibilities proposed are undescribed effects in the womb and better nutrition in early in life, with no real detail provided. Medical advances cannot take most of the credit, she notes, leaving the impression that it's an unresolved mystery.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Times failed to mention if pesticides, preservatives, constant burning of fossil fuels, automotive transport of people and goods, massive generating stations providing public power over towering high-voltage transmission lines, indiscriminate use of diagnostic X-rays, clear cutting of forests, mountainous landfills, chemical laden corporate farms, artificial food supplements, factory food processing, cookie-cutter homes, high-fat diets, ubiquitous roadways slashing the countryside, TV couch-potato lifestyles, fast food, and every other bugaboo they have ever railed against, has helped generate the wonderful news.

One observer who will remain anonymous, and actually died decades ago at a ripe old age, had pointedly noted, "I love preservatives. That's why we don't have maggots."

Landis Has Testosterone

The lamestream media told you:
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has been besmirched by a doping charge in his win of the grueling 23 day bicycle race, arguably the most difficult physical feat on the planet. His title is in jeopardy as officials investigate a urine sample taken from him during the race.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
When the person who is arguably the most macho man currently on the planet, capable of bicycling up and down the French Alps faster than any other person alive, is charged with having too much testosterone, something is definitely wrong. Personally, I hope they find he has even more testosterone than they already think he has. Way to go, American male.

The test, which involves the ratio of testosterone to its biological precursor chemical, used to rely on a 6 to 1 ratio as proof of doping. That was changed recently to a 4 to 1 ratio, not exactly your hard-edged scientific model of foolproof proof. Whether an increase in the number of girlie men had anything to do with the new, more sensitive, lower testosterone standard is unknown.

Doctors Misdiagnose Flu

The lamestream media told you:
Doctors do not diagnose most cases of flu in children, according to Stephanie Nano of the Associated Press (7/6/06). Doctors fail to diagnose most cases, "depriving them of medicines" that could help them. Four out of five children are victims of such poor diagnoses.

Many of the children did not even have a diagnostic test, according to a federally funded doctor at Vanderbilt U. who ran the study. About a third of the children would have been candidates for a medicine that eases symptoms if given early, the researchers said.

Two of the researchers acknowledge getting support and fees from the medicine makers.

Although only one per thousand young children are hospitalized with the flu, the researchers calculated that 56 per thousand, and as many as 122 per thousand, could be hospitalized in a mild flu season.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
I'm getting tired of pointing out that self-serving medical advice, that recommends research at great public expense, drugging, hospitalizing, and treating people for simple or common ailments that routinely heal themselves, deserves greater scrutiny than it is getting from the "news" media.

If the doctors numbers are taken seriously, drug company sales in this area will increase by at least 56 times. That's a lot of money even by government standards.

"News" media everywhere, complaining mightily about a slip in its credibility, could look at its predilection for reporting anything the medical industry reports, without any healthy skepticism, criticism, logic, common sense, independent research, contradictory opinion, contrary medical studies, financial assessments, concerns for self evident silliness, or the vast army of critics the medical community has unwittingly mobilized.

Tags: flu, medical malpractice, pediatric medicine