Dumb and dumber: Kent Heckenlively and Mike Adams team up to support an antivaccine WhiteHouse.gov petition [Respectful Insolence]

Yesterday was a busy day for a number of reasons. I thought of skipping it, but I couldn’t resist taking notice of one particularly hilarious bit that I found on what is perhaps the wretchedest of all the wretched hives of scum and quackery on the Internet, NaturalNews.com. There, yesterday, on a very special day for me, I saw this headline by Mike Adams: Facebook blocks all Natural News article posts to 2.2M fans after site posts White House petition citing immunization dangers:

In the latest outrageous example of total censorship against the independent media, Facebook has blocked nearly 100 percent of the sharing of articles from Natural News. It all began when a Natural News story linked to this White House petition demanding a moratorium on childhood immunizations for five years while toxicology experts study the skyrocketing statistics of autism, adverse events and deaths following vaccinations.

Immediately after the story was posted on the Natural News Facebook account — which has over 2.2 million followers — Facebook manually deleted the post and banned nearly all sharing of ALL posts from Natural News. The White House petition asks for the repeal the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act — the act 0f Congress that granted vaccine companies absolute legal immunity from all the damage and deaths caused by vaccines across America. This law would be equivalent to granting Big Tobacco total immunity from tobacco lawsuits or granting Monsanto legal immunity from glyphosate cancer lawsuits.

(Note that Mikey has been known to play with redirects, and, clicking on that link, you might find yourself directed to a page about the “Health Ranger’s scientific accomplishments.” If that happens, try this Archive.org link instead.)

Besides Mikey’s childish messing with redirects, I laughed out loud at Mikey’s histrionics, but I wondered what the heck he was talking about. Before I delved into his claims any deeper, I wandered over to the NaturalNews.com Facebook page and, as a test, tried to share some articles to my own FB page. I had no problem sharing whatever I liked from the page, after which I deleted the shared articles. I also couldn’t help but notice that there is now a Natural News app, which made me half tempted to download it to see what sort of crap Mikey serves up to mobile devices. I thought better of it, of course. Who knows what sort of privacy-invading “features” Mikey’s added to his app?

I do remember reading about a month ago that Facebook was going to try to do more to prevent the spread of fake news on its platform by deprioritizing clickbait links and fake news on users’ newsfeeds. Last November, Mark Zuckerberg himself had promised to do more about the spread of fake news on Facebook. Then three week ago, I saw an article about how Facebook starting to disable the ability of all Pages to edit the previews of the links they post in the Page composer or API, with an exemption for some original publishers. I wonder if it is this change that is what tripped up Mikey somehow.

Aside from that, obviously, there must have been complaints about his antivaccine post regarding Kent Heckenlively’s hilarious yet horrifying “petition” to the White House for a five year moratorium on childhood vaccination. I both mocked and expressed my horror at the concept about four weeks ago, when I first noticed it, but I notice that the date on the petition is now August 2, which means that Heckenlively posted a new petition. Why would he do that? Well, the date on the old petition was July 3, and petitioners at WhiteHouse.gov have 30 days to reach 100,000 signatures. August 2 is exactly 30 days after July 3, which means that as soon as Heckenlively’s old petition failed (which it did, with only 7,328 signatures in 30 days), he posted the same petition again. I guess that’s how he’s going to roll. Every 30 days he’ll post the same petition again after the old one fails. I suppose the attention from Natural News got him some attention with 1,503 signatures in 6 days (as I write this), but that’s nowhere near the pace Heckenlively needs to hit 100,000 signatures in 30 days. In fact, its roughly the same pace as the last version of this petition, and I predict he’ll wind up with roughly the same number of signatures as last time.

None of this stops the delusional Mr. Heckenlively from crowing about his new petition:

Yes, that’s the name of the new White House petition. Do you like it? I LOVE it.

Why? I love it because it’s provocative. I love it because it gets people’s attention. I love it because it will probably drive the trolls, people like Orc, Dumb Dorritt, and Dr. Proffit absolutely bananas. I’m hoping this gets the attention of people like Emily Willingham of Forbes magazine and she writes one of her odious articles attacking it.

Because then this idea starts winning. It will have become CONTAGIOUS, spreading like a MIND VIRUS through the consciousness of the public.

I love it because it changes people’s perception of what is possible, and if I can get the trolls angry enough, they will do the job of spreading this wonderful idea. Yes, my enemies are part of this plan because they are stupid and hateful enough not to realize that they will help this succeed.

Poor delusional Kent. He really seems to think that just adding Donald Trump’s name to the petition and adding a bit about “pharma control” will make the difference! As for his petition driving “Orc” absolutely bananas (there he goes again with the Tolkien fantasy of him as Aragorn fighting the Dark Lord Sauron and his Orcs, removing the “a” from my ‘nym to do it), well, yes, it does sort of—bananas with gut-busting, doubled over, having-difficulty-catching-my-breath laughter at Kent. I almost thought of not writing about Kent’s petition after finding his post over at the odious Bolen Report after seeing Mikey’s little screed, because I’m always reluctant to give an antivaxer like Heckenlively what he wants. However, I changed my mind for two reasons. First, I don’t let cranks control what I write, even in the reverse psychology sort of manner of not writing about something they clearly want me to draw attention to. Second, this blog rarely gets over 10,000 visitors a day, and the vast majority of them will be laughing along with me at Kent. It’s not as though anything I right is likely to have the reach to push Heckenlively’s petition from 1,500 signatures to 100,000. So I write what I want when I want.

Besides, it’s hard not to fall into one of those doubled over, trying-to-catch-my-breath fits of laughter when I read passages like this from Kent:

I won’t be surprised if in a week or two somebody writes that “Trump wants a five year moratorium on childhood vaccines!” Will I correct the record at that point? Maybe. Maybe not.

See how desperate and pathetic he is. He openly admits that he’s trying to trick someone into writing fake news about Trump supporting his insane plan. He’s also gone from likening himself to Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, and the one true heir of Isildur to the throne of Gondor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, to likening himself to—get this!—General George S. Patton, Jr. (a.k.a. “Old Blood and Guts”), the World War II general known for his audaciousness and his “always be on the attack” philosophy:

I think it’s like Patton in World War II, seizing towns in Sicily ahead of the projected advance, then when he informs headquarters they tell him he wasn’t supposed to go into that town yet.

“What should I do? Give it back to the Germans?” Patton replied.

So let people think that this wasn’t my idea, or the idea of some truly brilliant lawyers, but was instead Trump’s idea, and the trolls will work themselves into a frenzy and only hasten the day of their own destruction.

Sigh. So much pathetic fantasizing in such a short passage of prose. It can only be followed by what I like to refer to as the fantasy of ultimate vindication:

Now, some people have made comments along the lines of, “You failed because your White House petition only got a little more than 7,000 signatures in the 30 day period.”

A little perspective is in order…

My first White House petition was for Suramin as a treatment for autism. Personally, I think that is the breakthrough treatment for autism and will END the epidemic. That White House Petition got about 700 signatures. Petition #2 got more than 7,000 signatures.

Want to take any wagers on the final number for Petition #3? Petition #4? Petition #5?

I’ll give you my prediction. Each of them will get maybe 7,000 to 10,000 signatures. Kent Heckenlively has almost certainly hit (or come very close) to his ceiling.

Which brings us back to Mikey. I once said of antivaccine fantasies, “You want it darker” (a nod to Leonard Cohen’s last album before his death). Well, Mikey does indeed want it darker, a lot darker:

Natural News has published numerous stories critical of Mark Zuckerberg and left-wing cult fanaticism, refusing to be silenced by the tolerati of the delusional Left which has devolved into a culture of internet bullies and delusional sh#theads. The internet has truly entered a phase where stating any true facts about vaccines or transgenderism gets you immediately banned by left-wing internet gatekeepers like Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Merely stating obvious, irrefutable facts — such as “men cannot give birth to children” — gets you censored and labeled a “hate speech” proponent. Pointing out real scientific data — such as the fact that vaccines contain over 50,000 ppb of mercury, a toxic heavy metal — gets you labeled a “conspiracy” website.

That’s why it’s time to regulate Google, Facebook and Twitter as public utilities. Their abuse of power to silence dissenting views has become a danger to the liberty of all Americans.

Why this technocracy dictatorship ends in civil war

We have now truly reached the point of runaway left-wing insanity combined with totalitarian censorship. In essence, the Left-wing internet gatekeepers have become a technocracy dictatorship that demands unwavering obedience to the insanity of the left-wing SJW cult (and its statist tyranny).

He then provides a link to this video:

In the video, Adams claims that everything in the mainstream media is “fake news” and everything in the “independent media” (e.g., him) has science, the facts, and The Truth on its side, that President Obama “betrayed” America, and that Hillary Clinton had anyone who got close to the truth “killed.” And, yes, civil war is coming, according to Mike Adams. I had to give up listening after about three or four minutes.

Clearly, Kent Heckenlively and Mike Adams belong together. Maybe next Mr. Heckenlively will again generously offer me a chance at “unconditional surrender.”

ADDENDUM 8/8/2017, 2:45 PM: Holy moly! If only I had waited a while to write this. I might have had the amusement of discussing in depth Kent Heckenlively’s followup post, Kent Heckenlively – World’s #1 Anti-Vaxxer? The word “hilarious” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I must admit, though, he does make a good case in the early running:

Okay, I’m going to make it easy for the trolls.

I am the world’s #1 anti-vaxxer. Seriously, I deserve the title. Who else has come up with an idea for a FIVE YEAR MORATORIUM ON CHILDHOOD VACCINES as well as a plan for the COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF PHARMA CONTROL OF MEDIA?

Yes, arguably only the world’s “#1 Antivaxer” could come up with an idea as utterly devoid of science, reason, and sanity as a five year moratorium on childhood vaccines. Antivax is a scientifically, intellectually, and morally bankrupt ideology, and the idea of a five year moratorium on childhood vaccines is as scientifically, intellectually, and morally bankrupt an idea as I’ve heard in a long time. Also, behold the power of ALL CAPS. With bold yet.

His delusions of grandeur get even more delusional, too:

I’ve been very disappointed in the trolls because they haven’t been reading Saul Alinsky’s, Rules for Radicals, specifically Rule #13, “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” The idea is that it’s easier to go after people than institutions. I mean, Alinsky did dedicate his book to Lucifer and the trolls do want to destroy the human race, so why aren’t they with the program?

I offer myself as the target to freeze, personalize, and polarize. Just think of me as the Jeff Goldblum character, Ian Malcom, in the first Jurassic Park movie, lighting off that flare so the T-Rex stops attacking the children and goes after him instead. The only difference is that the T-Rex is probably smarter then the pro-pharma trolls.

I really don’t think the trolls should consider that my ancestor was Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant reformer who took on the all-powerful Catholic Church and not only escaped a burning at the stake, but is generally credited with sparking the Reformation and the Renaissance which gave birth to the modern era. I’m sure that family story is probably wrong.

Yes, and Martin Luther also contributed greatly to German anti-Semitism and was arguably a major influence on Nazi anti-Semitism. No, I’m not saying Kent Heckenlively is anti-Semitic. I don’t believe that he is. I do, however, believe that he is promoting an ideology that is potentially just as harmful as anti-Semitism, his antivaccine views. Also, I bring up Martin Luther’s virulent anti-Semitism to remind Mr. Heckenlively that he should perhaps be more careful in choosing the heros after whom he wants to pattern himself.

As for the rest, as usual, Heckenlively thinks way too highly of himself. He thinks that I and other pro-science advocates, for instance, are going to spend a lot of time going after him and his silly idea of a vaccine moratorium. Well, I have news for Mr. Heckenlively. Writing about him is the sort of thing I do on days when I don’t have a lot of time or thought to devote to blogging. In other words, he’s a very easy target. It takes me little effort at all to deconstruct Heckenlively’s claims and mock him, after which I rapidly forget about him and move on to far more important topics the following day.

He then concludes with a bravado-filled challenge:

Vaccines are safe! Let’s never question them again!

That really is your message. It’s a little like saying, rotary phones are great! Stop all forward progress! We would never have cellular phones.

You are the past. I am the future.

I am happy to go in front of Matt Lauer, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, or any of those other pretty boy excuses for newsmen on networks that get up to 70% of their income from pharmaceutical companies – and take you on.

In fact, I even promise that if you ever do find the courage to take me on in an honest public debate, that I will fight you with half my brain tied behind my back.

If Heckenlively really were to “tie half his brain behind his back,” he probably couldn’t outargue a six year old.