Wednesday Morning Rant

It's always amusing to see a person or organization engage in nearly perfect Doublethink. When someone consistently holds a position and then simply and easily subscribes to a contradictory position at the same time, it's a strong example that the person you're dealing with is dishonest or insane (or, of course, both). There was a splendid example of this late last week on CBS News' morning program.

The story was related to the spring time change and sleep problems. In an unusual deviation from the "women and minorities hardest hit" standard, the segment focused on schoolkids and how already sleep-deprived teenagers (who have apparently always been sleep deprived, since these same kinds of stories were also common when I was a teenager) may have more trouble coping with "springing forward," and urged caution specifically regarding the use of Melatonin.

The segment had some of the usual elements like "not FDA-regulated like a drug" and other such disclaimers, but the real point was buried in the middle of the segment:

Melatonin "does seem to be safe for short term use," Dr. Celine Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on "CBS Mornings" Friday, But she adds there are a few things to be aware of.

First, it's a hormone.

"Whenever you're talking about giving kids hormones, you want to be especially careful, especially in kids who are pre-pubescent, so not yet adolescents," Gounder said. She explains there are some indicators that melatonin could trigger an early puberty.

Generally speaking, Gounder advises proceeding with caution when it comes to kids.

"I would really be cautious about using it in somebody who has not gone through puberty yet and use it, even in teens, on a very occasional basis," she says.

The same organizations that are all-in on the use of powerful transgender medical interventions for minors - including the administration of cross-sex hormones - suddenly have an entirely different position when it comes to a sleep aid. "Melatonin is a hormone, so don't give it to kids" seems reasonable enough, yet the same outfits giving that warning also assert that it's monstrous to restrict cross-sex hormone replacement therapy for kids.

It has been obvious for some time that insanity, stupidity, malice and Party loyalty are the prime movers of our propaganda complex, and that Doublethink is everywhere. This particular example of it, however, is a real stand-out.

posted by Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM

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