Daily Archives: October 4, 2009

Seasonal flu shot increases risk of H1N1 infection?

This idea has been knocking around for a a few days, and is regularly discussed by David Dobbs at his blog. This concerns me quite a bit, as my wife is 8 months pregnant, flu is a very serious risk for pregnant women and their babies, she teaches in a high school, and got her seasonal flu shot last week. It’s called the Hoskins effect and it seems to happen now and then with viruses.

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Bachmann and Punk Christians

Rep. Michele Bachmann will be headlining a fundraiser in November for controversial ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide (YCRBYCH).

Based in Annandale, Minn., the group has made a name for itself as an anti-drug Christian punk rock band that organizes motivational student assemblies to bring Christ to public schools. But over the last several years, parents and school administrators have complained that the ministry misrepresents itself, claiming that the group is not transparent about its Christian mission.

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Fear

Fear has been a subject of discussion around here lately. Pursuant to that, Stephanie Zvan has an interesting piece on it here at Quiche Moraine.

This is in part a follow-up on the Bomb Swarm in Princeton, Minnesota, which is starting to look more and more like what I said it was. A homecoming prank.

If we want people to become more rational, particularly about fear, we need to change what we’re telling them.

And what would that involve? Click here. Don’t be afraid.

Carry a gun = you get shot more often

In a first-of its-kind study, epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that, on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.
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