Think back to the first time you and your friends tried mixing all the sodas in the pop fountain. You watched each different fizz cascade into the 64 oz. Big Gulp, mesmerized as the cola-colored puddle metamorphosed into a rust-colored, guaranteed gut-buster of a beverage. You thought to yourself, "Is this a good idea?"

And if you're anything like me, you said, "What the hell," and took a sip and even as you felt your Cheetoes and chocolate milk crawling back up your throat (with just a hint of Dr. Pepper), you swore to all your friends--you swore to God--that it was the "best thing ever made, try it, you gotta try it, just try it." And in the end, after fighting back your lunch, you decided it wasn't really that bad. And you took another sip.

That's what life is like in mredison's neighborhood. Welcome.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Tom Cruise was right about Matt Lauer

"Matt, you're glib!" --Tom Cruise to Matt Lauer

Today on the Today show, there was a segment on vaccinations and autism. NBC's health correspondent interviewed several docs who indicated that there were 16 studies showing no causal relationship.

Here's Matt:

"So, there's no casual relationship?"

"No, no, CAUSAL, Matt. There's no causal relationship."

"So if there's no causal relationship, why doesn't this debate go away?"

At this point, the health correspondent explains that she and the doctors she interviewed for this piece have been physically confronted by parents who are part of the no-vaccines-for-dis-baby fringe.

Matt was incredulous.

"You mean VERBALLY confronted?"

"No, Matt. Physically."

"Wow, controversial issue. Thanks..--"

"No, Matt. This is not a controversial issue. There is no controversy. 16 studies show that there is no truth to the idea that vaccines cause autism. We need to change the focus from vaccines to the causes of autism. There is no controversy."

I thought this was a very sensible retort. I mean, why give validate the wacky claims of the fringe by implying that disagreeing with reality is cause for controversy. See the 911-truthers who call in daily to WPR shows on a variety of topics just to slip in the phrase "That was an inside job" before the host cuts them off.

Here's Matt again:

"Well, it is a controversial issue. Otherwise, people wouldn't be physically confronting you."


I'll spare my fingers the work of extrapolating this mindset to genocides of the 20th century. Tom was right, but he didn't go far enough. Matt Lauer is an f-ing idiot.
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