I haven’t been following much of the news lately; it’s just been too depressing (the story in Haiti, the worthless health reform that’s currently being debated). So when I stumbled on this video, I thought it was some kind of a Saturday Night Live comedy joke, or something on that order. But I soon realized that this was in fact real; and there are people in this world, that are just this stupid!
After one of Obama's appointees as “spiritual advisers," (Harry Knox) said in effect that pope Benedict’s advising people not use condoms, because they were ineffective in preventing the spread of HIV and AIDs, was "hurting people in the name of Jesus," many in the catholic community began writing letters to Obama, calling for him to get rid of Knox, and calling Knox a bigot. I found some of their claims just astounding in the ignorance that they were proclaiming; some are saying that there is evidence to back up the claims, which the pope made. I believe this post says it best:
It is rare that philosophical arguments can be resolved by simply appealing to empirical data. In many instances, participants in the dispute may agree on the facts but disagree about the implications of those facts or how much weight should be given to them. However, there are rare cases where a thorough examination of the evidence proves one side is correct and the other side clearly wrong. The “debate” between Harry Knox and Pope Benedict is one of those rare instances.
The fact is that if used properly, condoms are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV and other STD's as well. My hats off to Knox, for trying to undo some of the harm the pope has caused. The pope is one of the most racist and evil, hateful people walking on the earth today, and I have nothing but praise for Knox, for calling out this evil monster’s lies (the pope).
I wish to clarify what I was implying here in this post; I only used the quotes of Gross and Looby, as a spin on their story. But to keep this post short, I left out how both the pope’s statements and those of Gross and Looby; were derived from evidence, which was totally taken out of its proper context, with regards to the real facts in this matter.
They claim that in places in Africa, where condoms have been disturbed, the rates of HIV infections have increased as well (and they have). But so have the rates everywhere else in Africa. The fact is, only a small percent of the people in Africa have access too, and are using condoms; so of course the rates of infections is going to continue to increase. But that fact has nothing to do with the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS, if most of the people who became infected, were not using condoms when they became infected.
The conclusion they reached is just like saying; 2% of the children were vaccinated against smallpox, and the rates of smallpox infections, are still increasing. So the smallpox vaccine must be ineffective.
