Tag: scientism

Suddenly Opposing the CDC and Ignoring Science Is Not a Crisis When it Is the Biden Administration

It was a common theme heard throughout 2020 — Donald Trump would dispute recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, and in the course of ‘’ignoring science’’ put lives at risk. As far back as February Trump was said to have discounted advice from the CDC regarding flying American citizens back from Asia. Frequently we were told how the administration would discard recommendations from the agency on matters such as initial quarantine orders, reopening the economy, how he would listen to administration officials first, and refused to follow guidance on opening schools and churches. 

According to Bloomberg News, ‘’Ordinarily, presidents listen to experts because it serves their own political interests. That’s not happening this time.’’ These issues, of course, caused consternation and accusations he was ignoring science, elevating things to scandal levels, we were told. It then becomes rather telling how changing the curtains in the oval office makes these exact same actions far less serious and grave for the nation.

For two consecutive days this week we have seen bright and shiny new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at the podium during her daily press briefings contradicting the CDC, directly. While her words were reported what is notable is the distinct lack of wailing to be heard from the press corps. 

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The Strangely Unscientific Masking Of America

I remember vividly the day, at the tail end of March, when facemasks suddenly became synonymous with morality: either one cared about the lives of others and donned a mask, or one was selfish and refused to do so. The shift occurred virtually overnight. 

Only a day or two before, I had associated this attire solely with surgeons and people living in heavily polluted regions. Now, my friends’ favorite pastime during our weekly Zoom sessions was excoriating people for running or socializing without masks in Prospect Park. I was mystified by their certitude that bits of cloth were the only thing standing between us and mass death, particularly when mere weeks prior, the message from medical experts contradicted this new doctrine.

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How Universities Cover Up Scientific Fraud

One in fifty scientists fakes research by fabricating or falsifying data. They make off with government grant money, which they share with their universities, and their made-up findings guide medical practice, public policy and ordinary people’s decisions about things like whether or not to vaccinate their children. The fraudulent science we know about has caused thousands of deaths and wasted millions in taxpayer dollars. That is only scratching the surface, however—because most fraudsters are never caught. As Ivan Oransky notes in Gaming the Metrics, “the most common outcome for those who commit fraud is: a long career.”

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