#3047: Richard Horowitz

 Yes, here we go again.  

 

Chronic Lyme is (still) not a genuine medical diagnosis and people who think they suffer from chronic Lyme don’t really suffer from chronic Lyme. They (usually) do really suffer, though, and since most real doctors and medical organizations have standards and want to avoid lying and misinformation, they often struggle to help this group of people. And that, of course, provides a room for hucksters and opportunists, such as the group of conmen, conspiracy theorists and confused medical providers (it’s often hard to assign particular members to particular subcategories) known as Lyme-literate Doctors, people who have – probably for a variety of reasons – jumped in to offer these people recognition, affirmation, pseudoscience and costly nonsense. Such ‘Lyme-literate Doctors’ – they are fairly and even-handedly described here – are organized in the all-round frightening group International Lyme and Associated Disease (ILADS) to provide support and legal protection for whatever nonsense its members want to offer.

 

Richard Horowitz, MD, is an ILADS board member and scientific advisor and a patron to Lyme Disease Association of Australia. It’s notable that lyme isn’t even endemic to Australia; neither, for that matter, is Horowitz, who is medical director of the Hudson Valley Healing Arts Centre, an “integrative medical center which combines classical and complementary approaches in the treatment of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne disorders”. He is, however, a pretty central figure in the chronic Lyme movement, and has put in plenty of effort to spread the myth of chronic Lyme, e.g. through speaking tours and at least two books that have apparently helped popularize the nonsense and pseudoscience behind it, Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease (2013) and How Can I Get Better? An Action Plan for Treating Resistant Lyme and Chronic Disease (2017).

 

Horowitz claims to have treated more than 12,000 patients for chronic Lyme – or “Lyme-MSIDS” (‘multiple systemic infectious disease syndrome’), as he likes to call it. To diagnose them, he tends to use one of his own most influential contributions to Lyme pseudoscience, the Horowitz Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire and similar symptom list; the questionnaire and symptom list have most emphatically not been validated for diagnostic purposes and are not useful for diagnosis if actually aligning with reality is part of one’s standards for usefulness. But according to Horowitz, most of his patients can be diagnosed with a range of associated tick-borne illnesses (Borrelia hermsii, Babesia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q-fever, Ehrlichia or Anaplasm), and he claims that MSIDS “involves not only the bacterial and parasitic infections mentioned above, but also associated viral and fungal infections, immune issues, inflammation, hormonal disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, sleep disorders, environmental toxins with heavy metals, and detoxification problems”. Whatever fits his bill, in other words. To treat his patients, Horowitz doesn’t only use antibiotic therapy (“you can’t just blow up bugs”) but “[d]etoxification, hormone balancing, heavy metal removal and ramping up immune function”.

 

One thing that is worth noting, by the way, is how the mythology of chronic Lyme has influenced pseudoscientific nonsense involving ivermectin treatments during COVID (some details here).

 

Diagnosis: A serious threat to health, well-being and personal finances. And he has, apparently, a serious number of fans – like, seemingly, many of the figures we are currently covering. Things are not going well.

 

#3046: Todd Hoover

   

Within the large-scale, lucrative but scientifically bonkers industry of homeopathic remedies, the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the U.S. (HPCUS) is a big deal. 

 

It is HPCUS, a non-profit volunteer organization, that publishes the official compendium of standards for homeopathic drug manufacturing and quality in the U.S. (such as they are), which purportedly ensures what they deem to be “safety and efficacy standards” for homeopathic products. Of course, although one might think ‘efficacy’ should mean efficacy, homeopathic products are not efficacious in the sense that they have health benefits, so the HPCUS has their own standards of quality, strength, and purity based on purely pseudoscientific homeopathic theory. Since 2021, the president has been one William Shevin, a retired MD who early in his career fell victim to the lure of the dark side of lucrative pseudoscience and has been a practicing homeopath for 40 years. Its current (and long-time) Secretary is Todd Hoover, a major figure on the American homeopathic scene who has also served as President of the American Institute of Homeopathy, President of the Council on Homeopathic Education, and the U.S. representative to the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis, an aggressive international organization of homeopathy apologists. He is currently affiliated e.g. with something called the Academy of Homeopathic Education.

 

It was also Hoover who represented HPCUS at the 2015 FDA public hearing on homeopathic remedies, and he made a poor showing, admitting that homeopathic remedies haven’t been properly scientifically tested (which is, of course, false – it’s just that they fail every half-decently constructed test), but quickly invoked a type of special pleading familiar with homeopathy apologists: homeopathic remedies and regimes are so specifically tailored to particular people and their conditions that systematic testing is impossible, which, of course is a very obvious lie (95 % of homeopathic remedies are over-the-counter, exactly in line with the preferences of HPCUS). Unfortunately, homeopathy and their over-the-counter products are lucrative, and despite the fact that the FDA hearings clearly displayed the nonsense and pseudoscientific underpinnings for what they are, homeopathic regulation ended up so diluted that there was little substance left, which presumably made the HPCUS happy even though the legislation should therefore, by their standards, be even more powerful – it’s almost like they are a bit selective as to how and when they apply their own theories.

 

Hoover has also apparently been “a clinical preceptor” for Hahnemann Medical College for over twenty years. We are not sure what that involves, but it sounds thoroughly cargo-cult-scientific. His research areas include “provings, clinical studies of homeopathic medicine, and applicability of homeopathic principles in allopathic medicine” and he has ostensibly published “many articles in both homeopathic and allopathic journals”, though at least for us PubMed yields meager results, especially with regard to actual studies related to efficacy for homeopathic remedies published in real medical journals. He has apparently written a number of books on yoga and ayurveda, too.

 

Diagnosis: Though a crucial part of the cogwheels of one of the major engines of pseudoscience and quackery in the US, Todd Hoover appears to be working mostly a bit behind the scenes: he doesn’t show up that much in discussion of the pseudoscience of homeopathy; we suppose that by his own lights, the less he is present, the larger his power should be. But whatever the outcomes of his efforts, they are surely not good.

#3045: Jerry Lee Hoover

  

The field of “natural cancer cures” consists of a variety of putative cancer-curing schemes that do not work (but are often costly) but that their promoters sell by appealing to some version of the pseudoreligious tenet that what is natural is good.

 

There are numerous types of natural cancer cures out there: most are scams, all are bunk. One we haven’t yet had the opportunity to cover, at least not in any detail, is red clover, a plant that is likely responsible for liver disease and reproductive problems in a number of animals but which proponents of natural cancer cures think may e.g. “help beat breast and prostate cancers.” After all, the isoflavones responsible for the health issues in animals also kill cancer cells in test tubes, just like many poisons (or a gun) would do. There is no serious evidence for any benefit, but there are, indeed, reasons to be concerned that isoflavines might actually increase the risk of breast cancer and increase the resistance of cancer cells to radiation for prostate cancers.

 

None of that bothers Jerry Lee Hoover, a naturopath and longtime proponent of red clover as a cure for cancer who seems to be working out of Nicaragua for reasons we decline to speculate about. According to Hoover, red clover contains a wealth of important minerals and vitamins, including “B12” (of course it doesn’t, but Hoover seems to be just making things up) and “B17”, which it does contain and it’s very telling that Hoover mentions it. According to Hoover, red clover “is good for cancer on any part of the body”; research disagrees, but Hoover’s evidence base consists instead of the claim that “Red Clover has been used in America for over 100 years to treat and prevent cancer” and that he has “personally used it for many years at my clinic and have seen many individuals recover from cancer”. So there.

 

Hoover is also a proponent of earthing and raw-food diets (or at least he was when these were still prominent health fads): as Hoover points out, “[c]ooked food is dead food”, plant any seed and it will grow. Cook the seed and then plant it and it will not grow because its life principle has been destroyed. This astounding fact is known to the Cancer society, but the public was never informed. Place cancer cells in a cooked media and they will proliferate. Now place the cancer cells in a raw matter and they will disappear!” Yes, it is a chaotic mix of metaphors, conspiracy theories and irrelevant delusions; at least it is pretty safe to conclude that Hoover is very deeply confused and ignorant about cancer. He has lately promoted fear mongering about cell phone radiation.

 

Diagnosis: No, he doesn’t seem to be a particularly major figure, and might feel that it’s unfair that he is singled out as a representative for red clover nonsense. But he is nonsensical, and it’s rather staggering that this kind of drivel is accepted as advice by a not-insignificant amount of people.

 

Hat-tip: Skepdic

#3044: Dennis Hooper

Molds and other fungi can indeed have adverse consequences on human health; mold has for instance been associated with health issues such as coughs, asthma, and hay fever.

 

As such, it might seem immediately reasonable to think that “anyone exposed to mold should consider being tested even if the symptoms have yet to be experienced”, as stated by the website of the Texas-based company RealTime Laboratories, Inc. (RTL), which offers a Mycotoxin Panel that is allegedly “unique in its ability to determine if a patient’s health problems are associated with toxic mold exposure”. Of course, in real life, and despite the popularity of blaming molds for health consequences, there is no reference range for the levels present in a person’s urine of the mythotoxins they claim to identify and no established level that is associated with harmful effect, RTL’s methods have not been scientifically validated, and no causal relationship between inhaled mycotoxins and adverse human health effects has been demonstrated (and the half-life of such mycotoxins is short enough that a test conducted a week after exposure would be meaningless) – it is also telling that whereas in reality, when a toxic dose of specific mycotoxins is achieved (e.g, through ingestion of spoiled foods), there is a very specific pattern of illness; RTL’s list, on the other hand, consists of a panoply of nonspecific complaints unrelated to what we, in fact, know about the health effects of mycotoxins – the kind that provides e.g. a useful palette for scrupulous (‘alternative-minded’) wellness providers to offer a large group of patients with different health complaints some lucrative nonsense treatment regimes; RTL’s test will also depart anyone interested with what is just a bit shy of a 1000$. The whole test might by some be characterized as an obvious scam, but we choose to assume that RTL and its president, Dennis Hooper, believe what they claim to believe. Hooper does point out that RTL [as opposed to some of his earlier ventures] is certified by CLIA, the federal agency that certifies laboratories; of course, CLIA examines how tests are performed, but does not consider how their results are interpreted; one suspects that Hooper knows this.

 

Hooper himself has a colorful history, though, of the kind that some might think fails to provide the sort of trustworthiness someone in his position ought to have, and yes: his background involves several run-ins with various medical boards. Nevertheless, he has apparently served as an ‘expert witness’ in court cases (though some courts have, at least, recognized the problem). And RTL’s tests are used by scrupulous (‘alternative-minded’) providers in precisely the manner we suggested above: a major customer of RTL’s tests is Marvin Sponaugle, who operates a “Wellness Institute” in Florida treating “patients who unknowingly were suffering from Mold Toxicity!”; indeed, according to Sponaugle, “[e]very patient suffering neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson’s, and Autism, that we have treated at Sponaugle Wellness Institute, has proven to have HLA DRBQ genetics and undiagnosed mold toxicity” (Hooper, on his side, has ostensibly described Sponaugle “the top mold doctor in North America utilizing their mold toxin testing”). Needless to say, Sponaugle has had multiple run-ins with authorities, too.

 

Diagnosis: Again, some might be quick to characterize the whole thing as a straight-out scam, but we prefer to go with ‘dangerously delusional’. And though the mold-fad was more prominent some years ago, it hasn’t disappeared. In any case, you’d better stay far away.

 

Hat-tip: Stephen Barrett @ Quackwatch

 

#3043: Barbara Honegger

Barbara Honegger is a somewhat shadowy semi-legend in conspiracy theory circles and has been so for quite a while: As a a campaign staffer and policy analyst for Reagan as well as special assistant in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in the early 1980s, Honegger rose to (a modicum of) fame in conspiracy circles with the publication of her 1989 book October Surprise, which presented her take – an unhinged version of this – on the Iran–Contra scandal, of which she claimed to have insider knowledge. The book is an absolutely bonkers wallow in rumors and conspiracy theories (old review here), whose favored ploy is inserting the word “reportedly” to allow Honegger to state whatever claim she thought would support whatever narrative she wanted to promote, e.g. people who “reportedly” admitted involvement in conspiracies on their deathbeds or “reportedly” met with each other under suspicious circumstances.

 

In more recent times, Honegger has mainly been known for her promotion of 9/11 trutherism, and she is, apparently, an invited member of something called Political Leaders for 9/11 Truth. In particular, Honegger has been concerned with the Pentagon attack (her “The Pentagon Attack Papers” were published as an appendix in Jim Marrs’ The Terror Conspiracy), claiming that the Pentagon was never hit by a passenger plane but was bombed by a military plane five minutes before the passenger plane apparently hit. Her case is based on a clock found at the Pentagon that had allegedly stopped five minutes before the attack and wild speculation (like suggesting that the original pilot on Flight 77 might have been an agent of the Cheney counterterrorism preparedness task force and therefore must have known about the plans for the attack all along). Apparently the Pentagon was bombed as a coverup of Donald Rumsfeld’s theft of $2.3 trillion to fund underground bases in Afghanistan.

 

But then, one should perhaps remember that Honegger can claim more resources for information than most, given her background in parapsychology and psychic phenomena like telepathy and psychokinesis – indeed, Honegger can claim a Masters Degree in Consciousness Studies/Experimental Parapsychology from John F. Kennedy University (that would be Loyd Auerbach’s institution), and she served as President of the Parapsychology Research Group (PRG) (apparently on the recommendation of Russell Targ) before joining Reagan. (Apparently, part of her research findings was that the human brain doesn’t have two halves; rather, all humans have two brains, a conclusion that, she laments, have failed to gain the attention of narrow-minded psychologists thinking with only one of the brains). She does claim to have possessed psychic abilities from a young age, and to have insights both into the Akashic Records (which are soon to be opened, something that will “connect The Earth to Mars”, whatever that means – Honegger has some connection to the website The Other Side of Midnight, a hub of the Mars pareidolia club that promotes various conspiracy theories about civilizations on Mars and suchlike) and former lives. In other words, the restrictions on what we ordinary mortals put on what counts as evidence do perhaps not apply to her.

 

Diagnosis: Apparently something of a trusted authority in various conspiracy theory circles, and as such clear testament to the standards for identifying authorities in such circles. Probably relatively harmless.  

#3042: Chuck Holton

Currently a war correspondent for Newsmax, author, and motivational speaker, who has previously travelled around as Fox News cameraman for all-purpose American hero Oliver North on his travels, Chuck Holton – who has also been a reporter for the Christian Broadcasting Network – is probably most famous for his long stint as an NRATV pundit until NRATV folded some years ago. As such, it is probably unnecessary to go into much detail, though there is a decent portrait of Holton (and colleagues like Grant Stinchfield) here.

 

Holton is concerned about the stuff you’d expect someone like him to be concerned about, such as (like Pete Hegseth) current crises of masculinity: According to Holton, it is “a huge problem in America” that “young men are being turned into second-rate women,” especially in “inner city” communities where they’re raised in “single parent households.” The main threat to America, however, comes from the left: Holton has compared liberals in America to ISIS because “they both hate America, they both say it’s a terrible place,” and “they both are for open borders” – it’s really hard to tell the difference – and to really see the dangers, you can just look to Europe, which is plagued by terrorist activity due to “the broader problem of multiculturalism and socialism” and to “gender-bending” (space unfortunately prevented him from detailing the mechanisms at work here, but we’re sure his audience doesn’t need him to). Holton was also a major promoter of the conspiracy theory that left-wing groups funded by George Soros and the Venezuelan government were trying “to influence the 2018 midterms by sending Honduran migrants north in the thousands.”

 

An illustrative example of Holton’s approach to things could perhaps be his hysterical alarmism about how an EMP attack on the US could cause people on food stamps to become cannibals (yes: in order to protect ourselves from the largely imaginary threat of large-scale EMP attacks, the first course of action should be to eliminate government assistance, for “when you have these sort of systemic issues in our government of nearly half of the people in the United States receiving some sort of subsidy from the government, imagine what happens when all the EBT cards start flashing zeroes”, says Holton). A perhaps more immediate threat is Black Lives Matter supporters, which, as Holton sees it, might be poised to commit mass rape and murder.

 

Diagnosis: It is worth noting that his Wikipedia article (as of 04.01.2026) is completely scrubbed of references to his work for the NRA; perhaps he is trying to rebuild a brand here? There is, in that case, unfortunately a lot of crazy baggage to get rid of.

 

#3041: Marjorie Holsten

Marjorie Holsten is a Minnesota-based lawyer, former delegate to the Republican National Convention and treasurer of the Education Liberty Watch, a wingnut organization fighting for promoting Christian nationalism in public schools, opposes that evolution be taught without presenting young-Earth creationism as a viable scientific alternative, promotes a science curriculum that denies the existence of global warming, and, perhaps more centrally, pushes parents’ rights to give their kids whatever education they want (or none) through homeschooling; the group is perhaps most famous for helping to launch the career of Michele Bachmann.

 

Although Holsten might not be a major figure on any kind of national stage, she did receive some attention back in 2016 for her argument that sex education is a conspiratorial plot to produce Democratic votes: “why would they teach such awful things to our children? If you go deep down and you connect those dots, you see that when children are desensitized to sexual things, that affects their ability at a later date to bond with a spouse. And so if you have somebody who can’t bond, they’re not going to have a stable marriage. When you have unstable, broken households, how do they vote? Democrat. So this has a very evil underlying intent.” Yes, there’s some serious dot-connecting there. Holsten did, grudgingly, admit that children have to learn a bit about how life works, but suggested showing them guinea pigs mating instead because “you really couldn’t see anything” and thus not learn anything anyways.

 

We don’t know what Holsten’s been up to since and can’t be bothered to do any serious investigation, but her organization is apparently still around.

 

Diagnosis: At least she takes a strong grassroots interest in children’s education. Unfortunately, she is rather typical of a large group of people who seem to have been doing just that in the US recently.