Tag: Conservatives

This is my op/ed piece for this week, appearing in newspapers in my very red congressional district (VA-06). **************************** In 2012, when I was 65, I...

This piece is appearing in newspapers in my very red congressional district (VA-06). ******************************** When I published, a few weeks ago, a piece with the title...

This piece is appearing in newspapers in my very red congressional district (VA-06). ************************** How do we know that it was of major importance to Jesus...

This piece has run in several newspapers in my very red congressional district (VA-06). ************************** To the best of my knowledge, I am the only commentator...

This is the second of a three-part series, that has begun appearing in several newspapers in my very Republican congressional District (VA-06). The first installment...

This is the first of a three-part series, that will be appearing beginning this weekend, in several newspapers in my very Republican congressional District...

Before getting to the present piece, a word about a previous posting, i.e. the latest entry in my series, "A Better Human Story," which...

It's utterly amazing to me how those on the right will trot out, anytime they don't like a policy, the "states rights" argument: that...

This piece is also running today in newspapers in my conservative area, prefaced there by the statement, "I want to share here a piece...

Cross-posted at Daily Kos

Dr. Joseph Mercola is one of the most popular New Age health gurus on the web. He is now using that popularity to push Ron Paul for president.

I tend to agree with many of Mercola's positions in favor of natural foods and avoiding chemical toxins in food and the environment.  I even agree with a few of his more controversial stances, like his criticism of the use of mercury-containing dental fillings.  (Does it really make sense to put a known, potent toxin in your mouth, for permanent use?)

Unfortunately, he too frequently dips into the crazy end of the pool, for example in jumping on the twisted bandwagon claiming that HIV does not cause AIDS.  He is also a relentless marketer of sometimes questionable products.  That has gotten him in trouble more than once with the FDA, which issued warnings to him in 2005, 2006 and 2011 for making exaggerated claims about his products, e.g., that one will "help to virtually eliminate your risk of developing cancer in the future."

These experiences with the FDA in turn seem to have fueled a certain paranoia and distrust of government, and hence perhaps Mercola's embrace of Ron Paul's vision of our Federal government and most of its programs being gutted.