A few years ago, a fan of this blog got into a lot of trouble at work because he dared call a misogynist anti-vaccine loon who was being more than creepy to women on social media a “douchebag.” The douchebag launched a series of emails to our friend’s employers. He also made an appearance in blogs talking about the issue, threatening to sue people who dared talk bad about him. Needless to say, the guy eventually backed off and went back to doing whatever people like him do when they’re not harassing people who call them on their crap.
It was because of that incident that I adopted some rules for this blog. I didn’t want what happened to our fan to happen to me, hence all the secrecy about who I (or we, at times) really are. Yeah, yeah, I’ve broken some of the rules some of the time. No one is perfect.
So we’re going to break the rules one more time before the year’s end. All of us, you included.
We’re going to name the anti-vaccine, anti-science “Douchebag of the Year.”
Feel free to nominate someone in the comments section. Nominations will be accepted until December 28. We’ll then have two days of voting before the “Douchebag of the Year” is named on New Year’s Eve in the final post for this blog for the year. A donation to a pro-vaccine organization will be given in the Douchebag’s name.
Here are my nominations:
- Andrew Jeremy Wakefield for his race-baiting propaganda about a so-called “CDC Whistleblower” who looks more like a confused old man than someone who actually has “dirt” on the CDC. Not only that, but he also tried to scare a science blogger by threatening a lawsuit against her for calling him on his bullshit, and continues to try and sue the British Medical Journal from the comfort of his palace in Texas.
- Anne Daschel, aka “Daschelbot,” for her almost non-stop commenting on any vaccine-related news site or blog. If you’ve read one comment, you’ve read all of her comments.
- Cynthia Parker, aka “CIA Parker,” who, like the Daschelbot, comments and comments and comments and comments, and none of her comments really have any kind of sense. To her, everything is caused by vaccines, and her self-diagnosing is truly amazing.
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for his book on thimerosal, in which he fully joins the cult of anti-vax.
- Ginger Taylor, for making this video and trying to sound knowledgeable when she is, in our opinions, not knowledgeable at all.
- John Stone, the Age of Autism British weirdo, for trying to figure out who I am and where I work, as if that will stop any of us from doing what we do.
- Peter Doshi, PhD, for being resurrected in anti-vaccine websites and talking points and not doing anything to correct the record on his apparent AIDS denialism, even when given a chance to do so.
Who do you nominate?
The Poxes Blog 
Everyone else already claimed my nominations. I’ll just second Wakefield, Hooker and Estepp. They’ve grabbed the most attention, it seems, this year.
As an aside, Dachel does not have an ‘s’ in her last name.
I nominate Kristin Cavallari for going as far as having a smartphone app full of Mercola’s quackery. By association, I nominate Mercola as well: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/12/11/the-bernstein-brief-cavallari-app-spreads-dangerous-lies/
If we took an objective view based on their level of influence, their level of stupidity, and how much money they make from the unsuspecting public, Mercola would take the award each year.
Becky “the bully” Estepp for going after a group of high school kids for the documentary “invisible Threat”. Basically, she couldn’t deal with realizing those kids were already much smarter than her, so she had to launch a unjustified PR campaign against them. Also BL Fisher, self-proclaimed grand spanky of the NVIC for going completely off the deep end about Ebola in the US (but sadly forgetting her tinfoil hat when making the videos).
I’ll vote for Becky Estepp who organized the campaign to harass high school students whose excellent film is regarded as a fine documentary about vaccines and the serious, sometimes deadly, diseases they prevent.
Just when you think that the “journalists” at AoA and their groupies can’t sink any lower, they manage to find new depths…and new victims for their vicious attacks.
Oh it’s hard to compete with those. In my mind Andy Wakefraud would win it every year! I would nominate Dr. Bob “The measles ain’t no thing” Sears. Wakefraud has at least been stripped of his ability to practice medicine, while Sears continues to peddle his book, suckering people in with his misinformation.
Dr. Bob Sears! Yes! He is also now in the running. It’s going to be tight between him and all the other assorted nuts.
I kinda think Wakefraud should be awarded a lifetime achievement award for DBaggery. Give the other loons a chance to win.
I don’t think that’s fair to the Kid….he’s floundering and more uneducated, but he isn’t a DB in my book.
He’s not in mine, either. He’s a tool, a total tool. But he’s not orchestrating anything nefarious at the moment. We’ll see when his PhD thesis comes along.
Hooker!!!!!
So much fail this year.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned The Kid.
Anti-vaccine, Sandy Hook hoaxer, 9/11 Truther, David Icke citing, chemtrail-damage-diagnosing loonbag chiropractor – The Red Flag of Orange County – Billy DeMoss, who is proud that his Orange County has ‘the lowest vaccination rates in the US’ (it doesn’t, but, anyway).
Ooh, that’s a twofer. Here…Billy DeMoss interviewing Andrew Wakefield:
Yes! How could I forget chiropracTIC nutjob Billy DeMoss. He’s most definitely a candidate now. As for Icke, I don’t know. It’s like making fun of a person with a mental disorder at this point.