Howdy-do, fair readers! It's that magical time of the week when we can sit back, relax, and wonder aloud why everyone else is so goddamn stupid. It's the Snake Oil Bulletin! This week, we have an actor who can't stop shooting himself in the foot over vaccines, and YET ANOTHER family so committed to their anti-medical bullshit that it led to the death of their child. Buckle in for this one.

Robert De Niro, MD, to make vaccine documentary, with blackjack and hookers probably

Certified medical-things-knower Bobby De Niro has announced he plans to make a documentary of his own claiming that vaccines are linked to autism. Apparently he didn't learn from the last time he destroyed his career and credibility. Well, the last several times.

If you'll remember two weeks ago, we informed you that the runaway success of Vaxxed meant there were more anti-vaccine films were in the pipeline. Robert De Niro can be personally thanked for the whole debacle, as he was the one who included lying liar fraud Andrew Wakefield's bullshit movie Vaxxed at the Tribeca film festival.

[wonkbar][/wonkbar]De Niro had personally pushed for the film to be included in the festival, claiming that he wanted to spark conversation on the topic of vaccines and autism and blah blah blah. You can insert the exact anti-vaccine obfuscation you encounter on any Facebook thread into De Niro's public statement and it would read exactly the same. After being roundly mocked, De Niro was forced to pull the film from the festival. De Niro found the whole debacle personally insulting, apparently, because he has decided to SEEK HIS REVENGE by making his OWN anti-vaccine movie. Only this one will be super so much better, you guys, for real!

In an interview with Vulture Magazine, De Niro seemed personally insulted that the general public was upset with him:

Well, what I learned, first of all, there was a big reaction, which I didn’t see coming, and it was from filmmakers — supposedly, I have yet to find out who it was.

It was Penny Lane. And the guys from It's Okay to be Smart. And literally all of Twitter. You're welcome, Bobby.

I wanted to just know who they were, because to me there was no reason not to see the movie. The movie is not hurting anybody. It says something. It said something to me that was valid. Maybe some things were inaccurate, but if the movie was 20 percent accurate, it was worth seeing.

What an astonishingly low threshold for accuracy Mr. De Niro will accept. And no, Bobby dear, it is hurting someone. Because of Wakefield we have seen the return of measles and whooping cough, two diseases we had come so close to eliminating. Still, it's a thought: release Vaxxed with an onscreen disclaimer: "This Motion Picture Contains 80% Certified Bullshit."

And they were saying it’s because of the filmmaker and he was discredited, but how was he discredited? By the medical establishment?

Yes, those are generally the people that credit and discredit FREAKING MEDICAL DOCTORS.

There’s a lot going on that I still don’t understand, but it makes me question the whole thing, and the whole vaccine issue is a real one. It’s big money. So it did get attention. I was happy about that. And I talked about another movie called Trace Amounts that I saw and spoke about it a lot, that people should see it, and it’s there. Something is there with vaccines, because they’re not tested in some ways the way other medicines are, and they’re just taken for granted and mandated in some states. And people do get sick from it. Not everybody, but certain people are sensitive, like anything, penicillin.

Trace Amounts is an anti-vaccine film we may get around to reviewing someday if our skulls don't voluntarily cave in 15 minutes into the viewing. But until then, we'll note that Bobby is contending that vaccines are not tested like most medicine. That point is true, except that it's because vaccines are tested even more rigorously. That's when De Niro dropped the bombshell about his own special vaccine film:

[Interviewer:] Your hope is that eventually people will see the movie?

[De Niro]: Yeah, and you always say, you’re not against vaccines, you’re against what they put in vaccines that can hurt certain people who are allergic. It can kill them sometimes. And there’s such an industry. There’s big, big money in vaccines that the CDC will put ...

[Interviewer:] And you’d show this movie again, given the opportunity?

[De Niro]: No, I’m working on something else. Harvey Weinstein and I are working on doing a documentary, but I don’t what [sic] to talk much about it, because when I talk about it, something happens. But that’s what we plan to try to do.

Excellent! Soon movie-goers across this great land will hear some deep thoughts on medical science from the man who once asked his future son-in-law if he could milk him like a cat. And why shouldn't we trust De Niro's judgment on medicine? We're sure this will be as rigorous an examination of vaccines as Analyze That was for mental health. Good luck to you, Bobby, and happy trails on your Munchausen endeavor. And speaking of hurting children through willful ignorance...

What is with these monsters denying kids their insulin?

Our last story on the bulletin is only for readers with a strong constitution. It's graphic, cruel, and twisted in the absolute worst ways.

Serious Warning: To adequately tell this story, we had to include photos of a child whose parents denied him food and lifesaving medical treatment. We won't take it personally if you choose to stop reading here and scroll quickly to comment about Bobby DeNiro's vaccine stupidity instead.

Two parents in Alberta are on trial for murder following the death of their fifteen-year-old son. The prosecutors allege that Emil and Rodica Radita refused to believe their son Alex had diabetes, and that they starved him and withheld insulin treatments for years before his death in 2013. When he finally died at age 15, Alex Radita weighed only 37 pounds. That is two digits. Two tiny, mind-numbing digits.

[wonkbar]" target="_blank">[/wonkbar]We've mentioned before that denying diabetic kids insulin is a heart-wrenchingly common thing among parents who are in denial about their children's illness. A mother in Ireland summed it up perfectly when she told doctors that she would rather her daughter DIE at home than ever give her insulin. Whatever the thought process behind, these parents honestly seem to believe that the doctors don't know what they're talking about, and that they can wish away their child's diabetes with warm hugs and Mommy love. Though, by all appearances, there was no love in the Radita home.

The Raditas first came to the attention of the Canadian authorities in 2000 when Alex, then three years old, was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His parents were so adamant that he did not actually have the disease that the hospital initially refused to release him back into their custody. Alex was released to his parents only on the condition that the Raditas tested his blood sugar four times a day and submitted the results to the hospital every week. Three months later, Alex was readmitted to the hospital after the Raditas faked his blood sugar readings.

He was released into their custody again only on the condition that he regularly see a doctor. That plan worked for about six months until the doctor moved his practice. According to testimony, the Raditas stopped seeing doctors all together for three years after that. But in 2003, Alex was returned to the hospital unconscious, with a distended stomach, rotten teeth, and undetectable blood sugar. He was placed in the custody of BC child and family services for a year before a moran judge decided that two parents who tried to kill their babby were totes cool to have him back. The director of the child and family services wanted to terminate parental rights but that judge knew better OBVIOUSLY.

Three years later, the family disappeared from BC and turned up in Alberta, and for the next 8 years withdrew Alex completely from the outside world. He was kept in his bedroom most of the time, and was eventually withdrawn from school. By the time Alex died at age 15 from bacterial sepsis (a condition of untreated diabetes) he weighed 37 pounds and was covered in ulcers.

We feel physically ill sharing these photos of Alex, but believe it's necessary to convey just how cruelly this poor kid was neglected by his insane parents. Keep in mind these photos are from Alex's 15th birthday party. The family celebrated and took photos.

While the Crown has not yet offered an explanation why the Raditas did this to their son, evidence turned up in their home is revealing. We want to be very clear that we are not speculating on an ongoing trial because we are not lawyers, police, or other assorted responsible growned-up folk. We simply find it very interesting that the Radita's home was found to be littered with Bible verses, all of which describe finding health through the Lord. There were at least four pages of these verses submitted into evidence:

Again, we are not speculating. It would be irresponsible to speculate, contrary to what some lushy boozehound says. Make of this evidence what you will, but just remember that this kid died a lonely, agonizing death because of his parents' ignorance and they did nothing to stop it.

Lest we repeat ourselves for the millionth and a half time: YOU DO NOT KNOW MORE THAN DOCTORS. Your mommy instincts do not trump medical science, you don't know things just because you were in a movie, and you do not have a right to treat your child like your property just because you don't believe in medicine. Stop it. Just fucking stop it. Stop being horrible to children, elders, and people in your care. Medicine is real and it saves lives. Just stop it.

Now if we could only find a way to get that message to the people who need to read it instead of to the sane, decent readers of Wonkette.

[Vulture / CBC / Global News]