Milt Reynolds: Thinking Out Loud

Honest Information I'm outraged by erroneous, reckless and manipulated conclusions based upon faulty research. I've just finished reading an article that describes such blatant disregard for science . The article dissects a recent conclusion reached by a study entitled The comparative safety of legal induced abortion and childbirth in the United States , by Elizabeth G. Raymond, MD, MPH and David A. Grimes, MD. Their conclusion: "Legal induced abortion is markedly safer than childbirth." However, the study appears riddled with errors. The study was based upon data reported by abortion clinics to state health departments and compiled by the Centers for Disease Control. This data is far from adequate for such a sweeping generalization or conclusion . Abortion reporting is not required by federal law Many states do not report abortion-related deaths to the CDC Deaths due to medical and surgical treatments are not reported as "due to treatment...

Scientifically Disappointed I work for a laboratory. In my mind, a laboratory is best described as the color white. I always imagine a laboratory to have white countertops, white walls, white cabinets, white floors, white computers, white ball point pens. No, maybe not the pens...I imagine the pens being black. Black pens with a chrome retractor and a chrome clip which allows it to be placed securely in the pocket of a white lab coat. If you look closely at the chrome clip you can see a reflected image of a white laboratory. I remember being so excited when my second-grade elementary school teacher announced to us second-grade school children that the lavoratory was just down the hallway from our classroom. A lavoratory! That's the same as laboratory, just pronounced differently, right? No. I sadly learned the truth five minutes later as we all trooped down the hallway to experience the lavoratory. "Lavoratory" was a fancy word for "bathroom" , which i...

Who Speaks and Why? I am stymied by the global climate change discussion. The need for dramatic, negative social change could be real, or it could be orchestrated. For me to accept the need for change, I must trust scientific and political decision-makers for conclusions that I lack the time and ability to research for myself. To reject the need for change, I must reject solid historical evidence that technology has had harmful, devestating effects on our earth . I just read an article posted by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation, Larry J. Schweiger . His thoughts coalesce my frustration. "Scientific findings can be just as contentious today as in the 17th century." Schweiger cites several scientists who suffered for their discoveries and conclusions: Galileo endured a life-sentence "house arrest" in 1632 for the heretical idea that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of our universe. Rachel Carson wr...