I have to disagree on the acupuncture part. I’m not aware of any other claims for it but as a pain reliver it definitely works. My God-Daughter has Sickle Cell Anemia and experiences deep bone pain as a result. I took her to an acupuncturist and her pain level went from a 10 to a 6 with just two well placed needles.
As far as conspiracy theories go Snopes.com should just leave them alone. There are no facts to check.
I think the problem is that many proponents of acupuncture claim it is capable of curing all sorts of diseases and other ills, which is nonsense. It may be an effective pain relief treatment in some cases, and this even makes some intuitive sense as it involves the stimulation of nerves, but many practitioners have gone way beyond that in their claims.
No, acupuncture very definitely does not work. At least as being more than a placebo effect. You (and or your insurance company) are being scammed. There is no evidence that anything like “acupuncture points” exist. The whole idea of it is magical thinking created thousands of years ago before people knew how nerves worked, not science. Moreover, the final nail (or needle) in the coffin is that several studies have shown that “sham acupuncture” (in which no needles are actually inserted but the patient is told that they are) is equally as “effective” (in the opinion of patients) as the needle insertion if the patient doesn’t know this is the case.
“Left wing” is a relative target, and yes, you could say RFK jr. is to the right of say, Bernie Sanders. But the idea that he is a Trumpist and/or has sexual relations with Nazis as you suggest is simply nonsense.
I suspect at least some insurance companies find that it is cheaper to pay for people to get placebos than for them to look for more expensive treatments.
Placebo effect is a valid treatment, people who got to speak longer with their doctors almost always have better outcomes, there’s more than a little to be said for being listened to, being given credence, and consulted. Same thing for people with positive mindsets in hospital, believing that the doc cares, and the medicine he’s giving you will help is actually really effective (obviously things like cancer, etc aren’t what we’re talking about here) even if the medicine is a sugar pill.
“Largely” is a grossly exaggerated assignment of causality since alternative medicine was the norm 2-3 generations ago and has always been around as a highly profitable industry in the US. The argument against NCCAM has always been around it not being worth investing in alternative medicine research, not that it legitimizes it - because NCCAM has been one of the most consistent sources for funding proving alternative medicine doesn’t work and is largely harmless. The real largest reason these attitudes are prevalent are pretty basic market forces: there’s money to be made, there’s little to no restrictions on productizing these things, and the start up cost is extremely low.
I wrote “climbed into bed with neo-Nazis” on account of RFK’s appearance on-stage, at a rally in Berlin, with actual neo-Nazis. RFK chose neo-Nazis as his allies.
I wrote “licked Trump’s boot” because RFK grovelled to Trump and assumed a lordosis posture when he hoped to be appointed as Anti-Vaccine Tsar in the Trump administration. RFK wanted Trump to be his boss.
These are statements of fact, and hardly controversial.
the word valid is doing a whole lotta work up there
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