Reasons not to trust the CDC and FDA

On the Science-Based Medicine blog, David Gorski asks whether we can still trust the CDC and FDA and concludes "I don't know."

For me, this is more evidence that no, we can't: Gorski (aka Orac) has been a voice for "trust the science, don't listen to anecdata" and pointing at CDC recommendations for things like vaccination for a long time. But that was before Trump, when we could trust the CDC to look at the science, not edit the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report to make the president look better.

phone banking

I have now done two sessions of phone banking from home, this election. I liked it better in 2018 when we didn't start with half-hour zoom meetings. The calls today used the same software I was using to call Florida two years ago, but I was hoping for less time on the intro when I said it had been two years since I used this and could use a refresher. Fortunately this time we were encouraged to bookmark the website for making calls, and do so on our own, anywhere from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This one is calling Maine, so no time zones to worry about, but I may look for something with a shorter script--if I'd gotten anything but voicemail, the script is about the senate rate, then the presidency, and then state legislature (if the person called is willing to stay on the phone that long).

I don't expect to enjoy this, but if I'm going to sit home being unhappy anyhow I might as well get something more useful than a crossword puzzle done.

toothbrush advice

The dental hygienist wants me to start using a Philips Sonicare rechargeable toothbrush, and she said that any of the rechargeable ones would be fine.

I am trying to figure out which of the differences, other than price, between the different models will make a difference to me. And I look at the website, and get to "I don't want to subscribe to a toothbrush," and help!

Yes, I may wind up subscribing for replacement heads, if I'm happy with the thing in a bit, but this is just a weird bit of living in the future. I'm fairly sure the hygienist isn't getting any sort of kickback or payment for recommending these, but it is a specific brand and one CVS doesn't stock--meaning they don't stock the refills. And this feels like exactly the sort of thing not to buy from Amazon because they won't make any effort to make sure I get the thing I'm paying for from the manufacturer, rather than a knock-off that isn't as good and is in an adjacent bin.

I will probably get the least expensive option, not subscribe, and see what I think in a few weeks.

Also, this falls under "even the small stuff about 2020 is getting to me," and I suspect I'd have coped better with this decision/situation a year ago.