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Use Astrology To Save Britain's Health System, Says MP
An anonymous reader writes: An MP from the governing Conservative Party has said that using astrology could radically improve the performance of Britain's National Health Service and that its opponents are "racially prejudiced" and driven by "superstition, ignorance and prejudice." David Treddinick even claims he has "helped" fellow legislators through astrology.
"Ninety per cent of pregnant French women use homeopathy. Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart."
At first, I have failed to see the common ground between homeopathy and astrology - these two sentences sounded completely unrelated. But they are actually related - it says
"90% of French women are gullible enough to fall for homeopathy. This means that most of them are stupid enough to also believe astrology crap, so market is ripe"
I blame the people that voted him in. Politicians are the result, voters are the cause.
On the bright side, it's nice to be able to point to this guy when some European elitist claims that Americans (or more specifically, southerners) somehow have a monopoly on unscientific idiocy.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
That's what 'conservative' means - living in the past. Its a bit like being amish but you can have serfs work the land for you.
In those instances, why bother with homoeopathy? Why not go straight to sugar pills/water?
And THAT is the problem with his claims.
It isn't important whether reading YOUR horoscope makes YOU "feel" better about YOURSELF.
It's whether reading someone else's AND BELIEVING IT IS YOURS makes you "feel" better about yourself.
So ..... do we foster an anti-science belief system because some people can self-invoke the placebo effect? Or do point out that it is nothing more than the placebo effect?
Did the voters really have a choice? For a start the choice at the general election is for both the ruling party and local MP, so if your national party of choice puts up an idiot as your local candidate you can support one or the other but not both.
Tredinnick had a 9% majority in 2010, ahead of the the Liberal Democrats. Their vote has collapsed now though... The most realistic alternative might be UKIP in his constituency. So it's a choice between someone who believes in astrology and closet racists, or maybe treacherous liars if the LDs can pull it back together.
We rejected the alternative vote and I imagine would reject PR on similar grounds (too thick to understand it), so this is what we are going to be stuck with for the foreseeable future.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
I've never spoken to an doctor for that long and I'd be suprised if any doctor had time or could afford such a thing.
No, but a decent doctor could do the differential diagnosis of reflux vs heart problems in about 1 minute flat, without spending most of an hour on irrelevant bullshit intended only to impress the gullible (which looks like it worked, at least in this case).