Monday, July 19, 2010

Howard Sattler-Meryl Dorey Love-In

Regardless of the Australian Antivaccination Network having being publicly slammed for lies and deception, Howard Sattler again featured Meryl Dorey today as his favourite vaccination expert. Those familiar with Meryl's tactics would be unsurprised that her statements consisted mostly of lies. Okay, only of lies. This is EoR's summary (EoR's editorial comments are in italics):

The AVN provides a balance of information. The medical community only provide one side.
We have no problem with anyone deciding to vaccinate as long as they make an informed choice.
We never say vaccination is dangerous.
You wouldn't go into surgery without a second opinion. (But would you go to a conspiracy theorist for it, or would you choose another surgeon?)
MMR hospitalised her son with encephalitis! (She should be lucky he didn't get autism). Nobody will ever say that it wasn't 100% linked to his vaccine.
Dr Rachel Dunlop is not a medical doctor (neither is Meryl — why didn't she say this?).
Skeptics are saying there's no such thing as free speech in Australia!
The NSW HCCC report "supposedly" did an investigation. We're going to the Ombudsman unless they withdraw their findings.
An independent investigation would never have proceeded with the complaint.
Skeptics don't want people to have access to this information.
Howard called for skeptics to have the 'intestinal fortitude' to call in.
First caller labelled Meryl a "champion", thimerosol was a "big fraud", autism diagnoses have increased because of vaccinations. Meryl said he had a "lot of good points". She doesn't assert vaccination is leading to a rise in autism, rather it's many research papers that are proving it.
We have security because the Library has had Skeptics contact them (It must be those free-speech hating terrorist skeptic breakaway group that only exists in Meryl's increasingly conspiracy-ridden mind).
Val of Langford rang: a granddaughter got really ill after vaccination and then became autistic. The doctor doesn't seem to see a problem with it.
Julia of Gwelup rang: her child had a strange reaction to whooping cough vaccine. The clinic sister said don't give any more of those shots. He is okay now though he was very active as a child (but not ADHD active) and maybe that was due to vaccination (maybe not).
Steve of Belmont: was fearful when he read of the vaccination/autism link. The Health Department bully because they won't cover the cost of importing special non-autism causing individual vaccines from the UK.
Troy of Greenmount: concerned about people being persecuted for airing an opinion. Government is in bed with Big Pharma.
Raz of Mundaring: never vaccinated because a friend's children became sick. Used homeopathic vaccination instead (Meryl pointed out that this was a very valid method (EoR points out that it's also a very valid method of doing nothing)).
Scott of Thornlie: (at last, one of those evil skeptics — but why didn't he demand that Meryl be censored like all skeptics do?) asked how many people have polio today? Pointed out that herd immunity has an effect which is way people aren't getting sick (Meryl missed the point and rambled on about "my research").


Howard stated he had emails and tweets from skeptics and then said "where are you?" Didn't he just answer his own question? Howard has a problem with emails. He's old school and doesn't see them as a valid form of discourse. Perhaps Angry of Perth should write him a lengthy letter. Twitterers are "gutless wonders". Meryl confirmed that skeptics "can't argue with the facts so they attack the person."

Unlike the Big Pharma funded skeptics who are all demanding Meryl be silenced and all her 'information' removed from the interwebs, EoR doesn't really care what she says. She has her delusions and she's entitled to them. If she wants to make a webpage with those fallacies and lies that's her right. If she wants to get people to pay her for those lies, well, there's a sucker born every minute.

What EoR has a problem with is Sattler's constant promotion of Meryl as a vaccination free-thinking* campaigner (always without anyone speaking for "the other side") because "I don't necessarily agree with her but she's entitled to her opinion." EoR wonders why Sattler doesn't give half hour slots to neo-Nazis? To Islamic terrorists? Aren't they entitled to their opinion as well? Isn't Australia a democracy (as he and his callers argue)? Shouldn't they be able to promote their particular ideologies via his radio show?

Update: The audio, if you have the strength for fullscale delusional raving, is available via The Skeptics' Book of Pooh-Pooh.

*That's 'free-thinking' as in 'free of thinking'.

4 comments:

  1. Gee, as I recall the sceptics called in last time she was on his show - when she "expertly" insisted Australia never vaccinated against TB.

    Good to know Dr Rachie is a thorn in her side. Onya Doc!

    On a separate issue, we've been getting ads on regional TV for this place. "Based on naturopathic principles". Looks, from here, like just another "detox" scam.

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  2. Hmmm: More raw food! Buy Dr Cabot's book! Read the Testimonials!

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  3. Well it must be good. The TV ad says something like "it could save your life".

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  4. Meryl thinks Howard's just a good-old champion of free speech :)

    As for the phone calls - if this was as impromptu as Meryl claims then the AVN supporters would have known about it long before any rational people did. They were likely queueing up to call in.

    But what's the point of publicly challenging someone who claims that "If a substance contains poisons, it IS a poison. That is not speculation and it certainly is evidenced."?

    That makes broccoli toxic. Not really worth the cost of a call to get into that sort of "discussion".

    Interestingly she says the lack of sceptical calls shows there's no debate about vaccinations. She's right, but not in the way she thinks she is.

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