Monday, December 03, 2007
Sometimes I watch the national nightly news, in order to refresh my memory on how terrible it is. It's hard to find a segment that isn't horribly biased, sensationalist, or just banal. I honestly think the only reason to watch the news is if you are a pharma analyst and want to keep up to date on all the bladder control and cholesterol medications advertised during the commercials.
Recently NBC news had a health segment on how much sodium we consume and how bad it is for us, which featured the following quote from Dr. Michael Jacobson, from the "Center" for "Science" in the "Public Interest."
But what really annoys me though, is how little sense his remark makes (and they always make this mistake). Are these 150,000 people going to not die? Does reducing sodium make people immortal? Then how will it save lives?
At best, if this is even true, in 20 years when the results of the action are felt there will be a temporary dip for a few years which will then rebound back to the steady state mortality levels. It's just a moronic concept. It's like saying that I saved $100 by paying my phone bill next month instead of this month.
So NBC news, get it straight. Zero lives will be saved. Some people will have additional time tacked on to the end, where they will continue to watch NBC news, but only if dementia has taken away their ability to understand how worthless it is.
Recently NBC news had a health segment on how much sodium we consume and how bad it is for us, which featured the following quote from Dr. Michael Jacobson, from the "Center" for "Science" in the "Public Interest."
"If sodium levels in packaged and restaurant meals were cut in half, that would save 150,000 lives per year."First of all, this guy is such a whiny, nanny-state pussy, I don't understand how he doesn't get punched in the face every day. Eat a steak, stop complaining, and die early like a man.
But what really annoys me though, is how little sense his remark makes (and they always make this mistake). Are these 150,000 people going to not die? Does reducing sodium make people immortal? Then how will it save lives?
At best, if this is even true, in 20 years when the results of the action are felt there will be a temporary dip for a few years which will then rebound back to the steady state mortality levels. It's just a moronic concept. It's like saying that I saved $100 by paying my phone bill next month instead of this month.
So NBC news, get it straight. Zero lives will be saved. Some people will have additional time tacked on to the end, where they will continue to watch NBC news, but only if dementia has taken away their ability to understand how worthless it is.
