BLOGSERVATIONS

Woman sees GoD in Salami. Why would a god choose salami? So many other options exist. This is just dumb.

MIAMI – A South Florida woman cooked up a little religion this week.

“I had only three pieces in my skillet and I was flipping it. The first letter was a G — it was a perfect G [it's not a perfect G]. And then I got the O, and then I thought to myself quickly, how cool would that be if the third letter was a D?” [The third letter is not a D. It really looks more like a giant lower-case "a," or just another smudged "O" if it matters in the first place.

There’s no word if Simoes ate the salami.

Looks like “Goa” or even “GoO” to me. Seeing a capital “D” doesn’t make sense, since the “o” appears to be lower case. But of course sense hardly makes a difference here. “GoD” is a stretch. And if it is a message from “God” he spells like a first grader. The burn marks made as the salami cooked would be found to be consistent with the raised areas, unevenness, of the surface of the slice. If it formed the word “ass” would she have been so willing to share her discovery of this simple coincidence?

She either a completely delusional boob, or she’s a crafty woman looking for a way to cash in and make some potentially big money from the Golden Casino on Ebay.

And upon further thought, why the heck and I’m I so bothered by stories like this? Everyone knows it’s all baloney right? Er… Salami.

I’m white, and not Jewish, so why then would I be put off by some racial jokes volleyed around my office? Why would I be downright offended and disgusted?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made my share of jokes, but that was when I was in elementary, or maybe high school. When I was a dumb kid, ignorant. Not now, not at 41, after meeting new people in life, encountering and learning about different cultures, and trying to understand what it means to be a human being. I’m trying to improve as I get older. Shouldn’t everybody?

I make my share of other kinds of jokes, but I refuse to make fun of a race. I will not make stereotypical wisecracks about black people, or people of any other color or heritage, and I will not tolerate jokes regarding the plight of Jews during the Holocaust which, even though I am not Jewish, has had a profound effect on my family.

Earlier today at work I overheard a few jokes about Jews with numbers tatooed on their arms, and even some jests about the gas chamber. Overheard is an understatement really, the jokes were made quite audible within 5 feed of my desk.

Now I don’t expect that the jokesters knew my grandfather was a concentration camp survivor, or that my great grandparents were taken away by force during the early stages of the invasion of Latvia, and never heard from again (probably gassed). But does it matter whether they knew? I don’t think so. It just amazes, and angers how any human being, with an iota of a conscience, respect, or decency can make such jokes and still go on feeling good about themselves.

What’s worse, these people are apparently believers in a god. At least one of them seems to consider himself a good and honerable Christian. Huh? Now that’s a joke! Talk about hypocrisy, some Christians are among the worst offenders!

Curious about how common workplace racism is today I decided to do a quick web search and was surprised, naively so I guess, to see that it is alive and well. In some cases the bigots even use code words to make their wisecracks. What is wrong with people that they think racial-based jokes are acceptible, or even remotely humorous? What the hell is so funny about genocide? What’s so funny about slavery, murder, or rape?

No one is spared. Jews, blacks, Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, no one. It’s sickening.

I was completely offended by the belittling of the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust, but do you want to know what other joke got to me? It happened a few months ago, and was when the alleged Christian (a caucasian), upon learning that I was offended by a joke he had made against black people, stated, “I have tons of black people in my family tree, and…” then he followed it up with a lynching remark. I don’t want to repeat the sick comment here.

That’s just not funny. Not in the least. What a good Christian, huh? To say that this kind of humor just doesn’t belong anymore is not accurate. This kind of humor should never have been.

I switched on the TV last night and tuned into NJN, hoping to see some nature or travel show, maybe something on science, but instead I get Wayne Dyer. Oh, pardon me, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.*

Thanks NJN for scheduling bullshit right alongside some of your decent programming. Please use better judgement before you broadcast bunk like this in the future.

Why is it that people like Dyer are so popular? Many reasons. They are popularized on daytime television shows like Oprah. They tell people what they want to hear, and people accept what they say even if they themselves have no clue what is really being said. They also pretend to have the answer to everything that may be wrong in one’s life. Varying shades of self-delusion shared by members of the audience is also a strong component.

One key word I used above is “pretend.” People like Dyer have no more ultimate knowledge about any supreme being or unifying force in the universe (something he was rambling on about in his NJN lecture) than a fifth grader. They just know how to make it sound like they do. They are well-spoken, motivational, charismatic, and either completely full of it, or completely delusional enough to believe themselves. They want to believe it as much as the audience does, and if they don’t then they’re just liars, thieves, con artists. Sounds like a televangelist.

Dyer, in his many books and lectures, talks about having the “secret” of a happy life, secrets of universal understanding. In the talk he was giving on NJN he even mentioned that, once your connection with the universal force was cleansed you would be able to heal yourself. He even mined for quotes to support his nonsense.

Okay Dyer, lets see you help an amputee get a leg back, or someone with cancer make it go away. Up for the challenge? Help them get their connection to “the force” cleaned up so they can get to work!

One caveat: you won’t be able to truly “connect” unless you lose your ego. That’s what Dyer said! So in other words, if it doesn’t work, and your cancer doesn’t go into remission, it’s YOUR FAULT. Your ego is blocking your clean connection to the force in the universe. That, my friends, is the same cop-out every bullshit artist will use. If it doesn’t work, you must have done something wrong. But it doesn’t matter, they’ve already deposited the check.

Let’s just take a quick look at the obvious. The thing Dyer refers to in his lecture (sometimes in the same breath) as a god or unifying force, is an unknown. Science is working on it, and it’s called the grand unified theory. But science makes no claim that a unified field, if it can be observed, equates to a god or some metaphysical force.

To assume Dyer has some inside track on the information, some intuitive knowledge that is above science, is foolish. To believe that people can make a connection with this unified field, and that this connection can facilitate self-healing, once the ego is out of the way of course, is idiotic. You can’t bank on this kind of stuff if your health is at stake, but that’s just what Dyer and other metaphysical morons tell people to do.

Dyer, and others of his ilk, are spreading nonsense. What’s worse is that NJN is allowing this crap to be aired on their channel! NJN has some great content. As I’ve mentioned, they air great travel shows which introduce us to new cultures right in the comfort of our own homes, feature shows on nature and wildlife, history and wonderful educational programming. Why on earth does NJN stoop so low as to present complete baloney like Dyer?

If we are to succeed as a civilization it requires moving away from magical thinking and toward critical thinking and reason. Too many people seem content to live in a world of fantasy, and they’re the ones filling Dyer’s bank account.

*Isn’t it funny how all these self-help gurus are doctors of some sort? Interestingly, Wayne Dyer earned his doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University. Educational counseling, not astronomy or any other form of scientific discipline. So how is he one to trust with regard to understanding the universe?

I don’t intentionally watch Oprah. Though she has done some wonderful things with her influence and wealth, I feel that her program misleads and misinforms people. Whether directly or indirectly, she perpetuates magical thinking, superstition, and promotes questionable medical practices and pseudoscience. Because that’s what her audience is looking for, so she caters.

Plus I work for a living so I’m not at home to watch, not that I’d watch it if I was home. Luckily (or not) for me they rerun the day’s episode in the evening on channel 10. What I usually see leaves me saddened by the level of ignorance that persists in much of our society. People actually buy the crap she’s selling. What’s worse, I think she actually buys the crap she’s selling. Maybe she just turns a blind eye. Either way, she is doing a great disservice to the public.

I chuckled as Oprah recounted a story in which she had an idea to start her own network someday, called “Own.” She said her goal was to create a network with mindful, not mindless programming. Indeed. Her show is 80% mindless now! And many people would just say, “well, it’s not that bad.” But it is. Promoting fantasy as reality and illogic as logic is incredibly bad.

Recently I caught an episode for which Oprah’s guests were proponents of The Secret. That amazingly ridiculous notion that through what they call “the law of attraction” you can ask the universe for anything you want and you’ll get it. A book and DVD have been made to promote this idea. The orignal idea was what I stated above. That through the “law of attraction” you can get anything you want, a new car, house, wealth, happiness, even love.

Any rational human should understand that this is completely absurd. That’s not the way things work. After the initial release of the book and DVD, The Secret was making waves, I heard some people talking about it at work. I’m amazed at just how many people buy into this crap. Something like this doesn’t even require much thought. It’s baloney! But it sells.

Anyway, The Secret received some needed bashing from the skeptical community, pointing out that it is all hoopla, howver obvious that should have been. And as a result, during this episode of Oprah we find that they have changed their tune about how The Secret really works. Apparently you can’t “get” anything you want just by thinking about it, as they had orignally claimed. But thinking about what you want can empower you to feel better about life, and maybe yourself.

Sounds like positive thinking. These people have been promoting positive thinking and calling it “The Secret.” They made a product out of it. Of course to actually get what you want you need to blend your positive thinking with some hard work. But too often the people who fall for this nonsense are are not rich, struggling to make ends meet, maybe unemployed, maybe depressed. They don’t need to be robbed by swindlers, and Oprah should not be supporting this kind of harmful garbage. Yet she does.

Amid applause at the end of the program Oprah’s guests sat before the audience with near psychotic grins on their faces, playing the part, trying to look as if they had already prospered because of The Secret and not the money they stole from a gullible public. I find this deplorable.

The secrets this world has to share are being discovered by science, not psychics or new agers. It’s not easy to always navigate your way through, but please do not turn to people who are asking for your money in order to provide you with their secret information. Do not be fooled, and try not to fool yourself.

If you interested in reading a comical article by someone who has put The Secret to the test, read I’ve Got The Secret by Emily Yoffe at Slate Magazine.

I also urge you to read Self-Help’s Slimy ‘Secret’ by Tim Watkin at the Washington Post.

The Colon Clensing Myth…

Kansas, as a metaphoric extension of Dorothy’s home in the Wizard of Oz, is a place of safety, trust and comfort. Though our safe haven should be science, knowledge and reason, many people find comfort in rather irrational things, with no real evidence to support them at all.

For example, Dr. Mehmet Oz is doing a great disservice to the general public, and as one of his greatest promoters Oprah Winfrey can take some credit for that as well. They are stealing minds away from our safe haven of science and rational thought. They are scaring, and misinforming the public. Shame, shame.

Why do so many people fall for the nonsense that “health gurus” like Dr. Oz espouse? Because influential, popular TV show hosts like Oprah promote their nonsense, and most people will readily accept an easy remedy.

Can you say, “baloney?” While Oprah does some wonderful things around the place and fights for many good causes, she also doles out a healthy supply of baloney for people who fall for it. Many among us are easily misled, and we all can fall victim from time to time, because the baloney often seems to make sense. But much of the truth is withheld, either through convenience, or just plain ignorance.

I’m sure it’s not Oprah’s intention to mislead, nor is that the intention of Dr. Oz. I’m quite certain that they, and a lot of promoters of pseudo-scientific treatments and practices (read, nonsense) believe wholeheartedly in what they are teaching and in some cases preaching. The fact is, much of what they present as useful remedies and cures for many ailments, both real and imagined, is not really as accurate as you may think. All one has to do is seek the truth for oneself.

A quick search of Google will provide sufficient evidence to the contrary of many of these claims. All you need to do is learn how to pick through the trash to find the goods, because due to the overwhelming popularity of nonsense the majority of sites you find at the front of the search results will most likely be proponents of the same nonsense we’re looking to avoid. Why? Because it’s marketing. Most quacks love to sell their snake oil to those who are most gullible. Sadly that seems to be a very, very large majority of the general population. Equally sad is the huge number of people trying to make a buck at the expense of people who really can’t afford to spend that hard earned cash.

But if you poke through you find some light. Some logic and reason that can help us understand the facts, the mechanisms that are really at work. For example, one of my pet peeves is this whole colon cleansing movement. Pun intended.

One evening recently I was talking with a dear friend over the phone. He mentioned that he hadn’t been feeling well. I asked what the problem was. It seems he had picked up some herbal remedies to assist in cleansing his bowels. They would have cleaned his bowels alright, if there was anything to clean!

Let me explain. What these supplements consist of is a variety of herbs that are purported to perform certain functions and assist in “scrubbing” rotting material off of the intestinal wall. Ladies and gentleman, there is nothing to scrub. You don’t have PVC piping running through your body. You are a biological organism very capable of taking care of itself. Certainly herbs can be beneficial to humans, and science knows of many. But these homeopathic colon cleansing supplements make it onto the pharmacy shelves for three reasons, they’re almost harmless (almost, I’ll get to that in a moment), are approved as food by the FDA (read on), and people will buy them. Dietary supplements are a money maker with no real benefits, and some have serious side effects.

So my friend tells me of his bout with diarrhea after taking the supplements. That’s because along with the various herbs, the ingredient list contains a couple of laxatives as well. After all, if you didn’t crap your brains out after taking the supplement you’d probably figure they don’t work. Can’t have that! The manufacturer’s of these tablets know exactly what they are doing. I’ve heard testimony on infomercials that promote these colon cleansing supplements. Things like, “Man I didn’t believe what was coming out of me after I took this stuff. It works great!”

The stuff coming out wasn’t waste material that was removed from the walls of his colon, it was whatever food was passing through him since breakfast, tinted various colors by the herbs (which are not likely to be a regular part of his diet, thus unfamiliar to him and “unbelievable”), and propelled efficiently from his colon thanks to the laxatives. As I mentioned earlier, these things are almost harmless, almost. Long-term overuse of laxatives can in fact cause problems with bowel regularity.

Furthermore, dietary supplements are not considered drugs by the FDA. They are regulated as foods, and as such, manufacturers are not required to prove their safety or effectiveness. Nice huh? Can you say, “easy money!?” because that’s just what the producers of these mostly harmless, mostly useless supplements are saying.

Contrary to popular opinion, which again and again we find is rather faulty, there has been no evidence found to indicate that harmful waste is collecting in your colon, or building up on the walls of your bowels like sludge.

We’ve all heard the tale of actor John Wayne having 40 lb’s of impacted waste in his colon. That’s just not true. It is possible for someone to develop an impacted colon, but the material will not build up to that extreme without severe abdominal pain. Anyway, I’ve taken this about as far as I wanted to go, so I’m going to sign off for now. That’s my load of crap for the day.

One thing is for sure, science will not try to take your money if you turn to it for the answers, the answers are readily available for free. Granted, medicine isn’t free, but you won’t find real scientists charging you for herbal remedies, making claims that they can cure any number of ailments, including gunky build-up in your colon. It just doesn’t happen.

For further information on the lore of colonic irrigation, and colon cleansing through supplements, as well as the potential harm these practices can cause, I highly recommend this article at Quackwatch.org.