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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Blogging Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

To the Bat Cave! David Kirby’s on the loose in the U.S.

Fellow skeptical doc PalMD informs me that apparently a new blogger, who happens to be a law student at NYU, discovered that his school had invited antivaccinationist-apologist supreme, David Kirby, to speak at NYU on June 26. In response, antivaccinationists, including David Kirby himself and antivaccinationist crank extraordinaire Clifford G. Miller himself, the man who apparently invited David Kirby to befoul the fair city of London and even the halls of Parliament with his antivaccinationist nonsense, has appeared. Much hilarity ensues as every antivaccinationist canard known to antivaccinationists is dumped on an inexperienced blogger.

However, I always want to support a skeptical blogger, especially a new one. Influxes of antivaccinationists, of which I’ve experienced many, can be very scary to a new blogger. Indeed, I was taken aback the first time it happened to me, lo these three years ago. So, please my minions–I mean readers–head on over and give a guy some tactical air support!

Meanwhile, I note that David Kirby has specifically asked this of the fine denizens of New York:

Please feel free to notify any and all interested parties in the NYC area that this event is happening. I am particularly hopeful that people from New York’s medical, scientific, legal, political and pharmaceutical fields will attend and ask some pointed questions. ALL are welcome.

Consider it done, David. Glad to help. So, my friends and readers from New York City and environs, how many of you can show up to give Mr. Kirby what he craves, since I personally cannot be there? Here is a flyer with all the details. Tell him Orac sent you.

Also, it appears that antivaccination groups are funding a speaking tour for David Kirby entitled The Vaccine-Autism Debate: Why Won’t It Go Away? Naturally, I’m tempted to answer that it’s because of scientifically ignorant, self-promoting “journalists” like David Kirby, working in cahoots with the Autism Quack Complex, who, as creationists do with the creation-evolution “debate,” keep the vaccine-autism pseudodebate alive long after it ceased to be a scientific debate, but that would not be sufficiently Respectful. Instead, I’ll show you a list of where David Kirby is going to be, along with links to the fliers for the talks where I have them:

  1. Dayton, OH, June 14
  2. SEPTA Spring Gala benefit, Pleasantville, Westchester Co., NY, June 23. (You probably want to skip this one; while all the others are free, requiring only reservation ahead of time, this one appears to require a $75 ticket for the whole benefit.)
  3. Brown University, June 19.
  4. NYU, New York City, June 26.
  5. Northeastern University, Boston, June 27.
  6. Other dates not yet finalized: Long Island, Central New Jersey and Southern California. (I will certainly consider posting them as they are announced.)

I encourage my readers who can attend these to do so and give David Kirby what he says he wants: tough questions. (In fact, feel free to post such questions in the comments, for the benefit of others.) I’m tellin’ ya, David Kirby and his antivaccinationist paymasters funding his tour should provide me with reasonable renumeration for giving him so much free publicity.

In the meantime, head on over and help a new skeptical blogger out!

By Orac

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski.

That this particular surgeon has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 35 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER:: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: [email protected]

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