A PSA Against Quackery in Cooperation with the JREF, (and I Don't Mean Anti-Ducks!)

In this age of conservative anti-science pro-quackery as reflected in their political agenda, stamping out bad science and pseudo-science is more urgent than ever.

If you doubt that this fraud is big business - and conservatives have been consistently weak on regulating and preventing fraud - take a look at these figures; while 4th in the world in population practicing homeopathy, the U.S. population spends upwards of $ 3 billion a year on this quack medicine.

This is all the more cruel a fraud in the context of people who seek their health care through desperate measures due to an absence of affordable health care and affordable, available health care insurance.

Take Action: Tell Congress to Close the Quack Medicine Loophole for Homeopathic Remedies

In response to the quack medicine industry’s “World Homeopathy Awareness Week,” the JREF called on Congress to close the loophole that exempts homeopathic remedies from certain FDA regulations that apply to drugs and nutritional supplements.

Click here to send a message to the Senate committee that oversees the FDA. Then share this action with your friends!

About the JREF:

Mission statement:
Our mission is to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.
About the JREF:
The James Randi Educational Foundation was founded in 1996 to help people defend themselves from paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. The JREF offers a still-unclaimed million-dollar reward for anyone who can produce evidence of paranormal abilities under controlled conditions. Through scholarships, workshops, and innovative resources for educators, the JREF works to inspire this investigative spirit in a new generation of critical thinkers.
We need your help to create a world where everyone has access to the tools of science and critical thinking, and charlatans can’t get rich by deceiving people. You can make a difference by becoming a member, taking action with us to stop paranormal and pseudoscientific frauds, or joining us at the Amaz!ng Meeting, the world’s premier gathering of skeptical thinkers.

Activities of the JREF:

• Expose paranormal and pseudoscientific frauds in the media, and hold media organizations accountable for promoting dangerous nonsense
• Provide grants and free teaching modules
• Award scholarships that encourage scientific skepticism among students
• Support grassroots skeptics groups with tools to help them organize and promote skepticism and critical thinking
• Digitally publish the important works of skepticism for distribution on the iPad, Kindle and other e-readers
• Organize major conferences and other gatherings that bring the entire skeptical community together

For those of you not familiar with homeopathy, from wikipedia:

Homeopathy (pronunciation: ⁱ /ˌhoʊmiˈɒpəθi/; also spelled homoeopathy^[1] or homœopathy) is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners treat patients using highly diluted^[2][3] preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient. The collective weight of scientific evidence has found homeopathy to be no more effective than a placebo.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}
In the context of homeopathy, the term remedy is used to refer to a substance prepared with a particular procedure and intended for treating patients; it is not to be confused with the generally accepted use of the word, which means "a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieves pain".^[7]
The basic principle of homeopathy, known as the "law of similars", is "let like be cured by like." It was first stated by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. His "law of similars" is taken on his word^[8] as an unproven assertion, and is not a true law of nature based on the scientific method.^[9] Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking on an elastic body, which homeopaths term succussion. Each dilution followed by succussion is assumed to increase the effectiveness. Homeopaths call this process potentization. Dilution often continues until none of the original substance remains.^[10] Apart from the symptoms, homeopaths examine aspects of the patient's physical and psychological state,^[11] then homeopathic reference books known as repertories are consulted, and a remedy is selected based on the totality of symptoms.
While some individual studies have positive results, systematic reviews of published trials fail to demonstrate efficacy.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} Furthermore, higher quality trials tend to report results that are less positive,^[14][17] and most positive studies have not been replicated or show methodological problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence of homeopathy's efficacy.^{[2][5][18][19]}
Depending on the dilution, homeopathic remedies may not contain any pharmacologically active molecules,^[20] and for such remedies to have pharmacological effect would violate fundamental principles of science.^[6][21]water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.[2

Modern homeopaths have proposed that that water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.^[21][22] The lack of convincing scientific evidence to support homeopathy's efficacy^[23] and its use of remedies lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as pseudoscience, quackery,^{[24][25][26][27][28]} and a "cruel deception".^[29]