Don't want to vote for Clinton or Trump? How about this woman who says Wi-Fi melts kids' brains?

Jill Stein joins the presidential farce

Hairball of fear

Again, there is a kernel of truth in the middle of this regurgitated hairball of fear. There is, for example, a letter from scientists around the world asking for greater research into the health impact of ubiquitous non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) put out by cellphones, Wi-Fi, smart meters and so on.

And there have, of course, been countless studies of the possible ill-effects of cellphones, particularly on the brains of younger people who hold phones close to their heads (general consensus over a decade: it's fine).

But acknowledging that the sun's radiation can cause burns is not the same as saying we all need to live underground. And noting that alcohol can be a contributing factor to various cancers does not mean we need to bring back Prohibition.

The mindset that takes an acknowledged risk and then amplifies and extrapolates it beyond all reasonable measure through fear is one that the internet has unfortunately helped to foster, since it is possible for people to find like-minded souls with a similar inability to put risk into a proper and useful context.

Such conspiratorial thinking then finds itself surprisingly impervious to reasoned analysis and scientific evidence because the same mistruths can be repeatedly fed back to an individual by people that they have a personal connection with.

The poster child of this cumulative ignorance? Anti-vaxxers, who, against almost the entire scientific community and an overwhelming body of evidence, still consider that the process that has enabled literally millions of people to survive illnesses and diseases that ravaged former generations is a threat to their children.

And guess what? Jill Stein, who it is worth pointing out is an actual doctor of medicine, repeatedly argues that the anti-vaxxers may have a point.

In an interview with the Washington Post, she acknowledged the enormous role vaccines have played in society's health, but felt the need to add: "Like any medication, they also should be – what shall we say? – approved by a regulatory board that people can trust."

Earlier this year, she also pointed to a possible corporate conspiracy at work when she said that the "foxes are guarding the chicken coop" when it came to vaccines, and that regulatory boards are "routinely packed with corporate lobbyists and CEOs."

Trumpism

In many respects, Stein is playing the same game that Donald Trump has repeatedly played during this election season: make careful statements that reflect fringe beliefs in order to build up support, and then claim they are being misrepresented when people criticize them for it.

Donald Trump has his KKK. Jill Stein has her Luddites and anti-vaxxers. And when she was faced with growing criticism, this was her response, delivered, Trump-like, over Twitter:

Those who say I'm "anti-vaxx" are anti-facts. They're lying to distract you from our revolt against 2-party failure. https://t.co/F4JVaMNNoS

— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) July 31, 2016

In short, if you are looking for a president who will stand up for ordinary citizens and use their best judgment to balance competing interests while maintaining high moral and ethical standards, we have struck out again with Jill Stein, a woman who fears her Linksys. ®