Quotes of the Morning: Blinded by Science

“STEPHANOPOULOS: Now you're a doctor. Do you believe that tears and sweat can transmit HIV?
FRIST: I don't know. I can tell you --
STEPHANOPOULOS: You don’t know?
FRIST: I can tell you things like, like --
STEPHANOPOULOS: Wait. Let me stop you there. You don't know that, you believe that tears and sweat might be able to transmit AIDS?
FRIST: Yeah, no, I can tell you that HIV is not very transmissible as an element, like compared to smallpox, compared to the flu, it's not.
But, the first line -- because I think it's dangerous to show that, and then sort of walk away...”
-Senator (Dr.) Bill Frist, on This Week, December, 2004

“Ok.. So Dr. Bill Frist, who is leading several programs to help stop the spread of AIDS, is unwilling to even admit that tears and sweat, to the best of knowledge of the scientific community (and they have checked this stuff quite a bit), cannot spread AIDS. I would like to repeat. He is a doctor.”
-Skippy

“Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), a new member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was at last week's meeting on a bill restricting class-action suits. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘I immediately thought about slicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about slicone breast implants. If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows...In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier.’"
-Washington Post, February 7, 2004

“Sometimes you just can’t make a snarky comment to top reality, but I’ll try… Isn’t it somewhat odd that the far Right (of which Senator Coburn is a proud member) don’t believe in global warming, but the idea that a set of fake tits could improve your health is one that they can swallow with no problem at all? Just asking. I wonder if Senator Coburn has bought a set for his wife, you know, for her health..”
-Skippy