Building a Case for Mass Hysteria

Here it comes. It's just like the anti-ephedra craze after the Herbal Ecstacy deaths. People who are irrationally opposed to a natural substance will overlook the fact that this guy abused diet pills in the Florida heat while exercising and focus right on the "ephedra" part of the story. Oh, that ephedra. It's a killer. Better stay alert, it likes to creep up on you at night, with a knife. Slash, slash, it's all over, and your precious life is ended by that nasty, evil herb. Hmm, reminds me of another plant the squares are so crazy about.

Anyway. So, it says here that 100 total deaths have been linked to ephedra. Here's a funny fact: There are over 500 deaths per year in the US that are caused by (not linked to) aspirin (one source goes as high as 10,000, but I'm dubious). Hey, FDA, instead of banning ephedra, why not study it, regulate it, place proper warning labels on it and see if it kills as many people as a medicine we commonly give to children? The fact that supposedly intelligent people don't see how illogical banning ephedra is really freaks me out. Am I alone in a bubble of reason, here? You know, I am all for electing smart people to public office. Anyone who supports politicians like Quayle and Bush and Jess Ventura and jokes about knowing they're not that bright should be ashamed of themselves. If you know a politician is stupid, don't elect the dumbass! Hell, don't you think people smarter than you should be running the government? And if you don't, how did you live this long without being able to tie your own shoes?