5.30.2010

Government-funded KPBS sends liberal arts major to cover science story; hilarity ensues

Your state-funded media at work promoting a cancer panic in Carlsbad:
Well, there have been 265 reported cases of cancer within a three-mile radius in Carlsbad. Fifteen children have been diagnosed with cancer; four of them have died within a particular neighborhood. At Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad, several teachers have been diagnosed with cancer. Several more have had infertility problems and some of the fifteen children that I described for you, they attended Kelly Elementary School at one time. So people are worried. They believe that something in the soil, the air, or the water might be making them sick.

265 cancer cases in a three-mile radius? OK, so what's the population within that three-mile radius and what's the expected cancer rate for that population? KPBS "reporter" Amita Sharma didn't think to ask!

Now one – the parents of one of the children who died recently, Chase Quartarone, said that an autopsy was done of him after he died and that there were very high levels of metals found in his system. That he had something like 98% mercury in his system as well as 96% titanium.
He was 194% mercury and titanium? Mmmmkay.

Amita Sharma has degrees in "journalism" and "international relations" from USC.

This is, of course, the same state-funded organization that smeared Tea Parties with the feature "Are Tea Partiers Hate Groups [sic]?"

HT: Jim the Realtor

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If they'd been eating Total, they'd have gotten 100% of both their mercury AND their titanium.

SarahB said...

LMAO...or I would if it wasn't taxpayer funded

T-Dub said...

Typical hack job by PBS. The only *true* shocker in this report is that PBS didn't blame G.W. for the cancer.

I put the odds at 98% that Sharma's Volvo arrived at the dealer with an OEM KPBS license plate frame.

Independent Accountant said...

Innumeracy runs rampant!

Happy Super Tuesday!