Skeptical reporter @ 2013-08-23
Skeptical Reporter for August 23rd, 2013 In the United States, Tarrant County health officials have zeroed in on a mega-church near Eagle Mountain Lake as where a measles outbreak began to spread. A congregant contracted the viral infection during a visit to a foreign country and attended a service before he knew his diagnosis. The individual was not a member of the church and was visiting the facility as part of a multi-nation mission trip. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services last week issued an alert against the measles, a viral infection that has been nearly eradicated by vaccinations. The youngest victim is 4-months-old while the oldest is 44-years-old, said Tarrant County epidemiologist Russell Jones. More than half are younger than 20. Jones said he believes the county has reached all children who are possibly exposed to it, although there is concern that residents outside the church could have been infected. The outbreak is prompting state and county health authorities to remind residents of the importance of immunizations, especially as school begins across the state and in North Texas. The majority of the patients were not vaccinated. The Indian state of Maharashtra has enacted emergency laws banning black magic and superstition, one day after a prominent campaigner was killed. Anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, 71, who campaigned for the law, was shot dead in the city of Pune by unidentified gunmen. Many businesses closed to protest against his killing and chanting demonstrators marched through the city. He spent decades campaigning against what he called "fraudulent" practices. After his murder, the government rushed through emergency legislation which, according to local media reports, makes it an offence to exploit people by offering rituals, charms and magical cures, and to practice black magic. Dabholkar and his committee (Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith), was particularly well-known for openly criticizing some of India's so-called "godmen", the self-styled Hindu ascetics who claim to perform miracles and are revered by many. You cannot convince people that evolution is false with logic, according to the founder of the Creation Museum in Kentucky. In a 60-second radio ad, Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham admitted there was no scientific evidence that conclusively demonstrated that evolution was a lie. But that didn't mean there wasn't solid evidence that evolution was a lie. The solid evidence just wasn't scientific. “We have solid proof in in our hands that evolution is a lie: the Bible,” Ham explained. “You see, we can’t depend solely on our reasoning ability to convince skeptics. We present the evidence and do the best we can to convince people the truth of God by always pointing them to the Bible.” In the US, governor Chris Christie signed a bill barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called conversion therapy, along with California. The bill passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature with bipartisan support in June. Assemblyman Tim Eustace, who sponsored the bill and is openly gay, described the therapy as "an insidious form of child abuse." In a note accompanying the bill, Christie said he believes people are born gay and that homosexuality is not a sin. The Republican governor also said the health risks of trying to change a child's sexual orientation, as identified by the American Psychological Association, outweigh concerns over the government setting limits on parental choice. "Government should tread carefully into this area," he said in the note, "and I do so here reluctantly. However, I also believe that on the issues of medical treatment for children we must look to experts in the field to determine the relative risks and rewards," Christie said, citing a litany of potential ill effects of trying to change sexual orientation,