The incidence of violent crime increases proportionately with the consumption of Coca Cola. This is a proven fact. But before we rush to remove Coca Cola from the marketplace, let us consider that perhaps these factors are correlation, not causal. In other words, perhaps neither of these factors causes the other, but that some outside, unmentioned, factor causes them both–which it does. In hot weather there are more violent crimes and people drink more Coca Cola. The crime and the cola consumption are both related to the hot weather, and not to each other.

The moral of this story is that statistics can be manipulated to say anything you want them to, and this researcher is making huge leaps in logic that seem laughable in their lack of scientific basis.

I say Shoes, Shoes! Let there be Shoes! And the more super fantastic, the better!

This reader has to laugh, both at the content of the Shoebuster’s site, and at the Manolo, who tells us to ignore a thing while he publicizes it. There is a photograph on the Shoebusters site of the natural, unshod-for-a-lifetime Filipino feet, which are quite like the feet of this reader’s Filipino father, who has said many times that he did not wear shoes (being the Filipino farm boy) until he was 12 years old. And now I am forced to consider the wisdom of that, because the feet of his people are there presented as an example of pedal health, and my whole life I have only laughed at my father’s funny looking feet. Of course, the best part of the article on the site is when every ailment that has ever plagued industrialized nations is blamed on footwear. It does seem a bit extreme to blame sudden infant death syndrome on the use of socks. But it does also seem strange that we women wear such narrow, pointed shoes, causing our little toes to curl under just so. I have recently seen some photographs of footbinding, as it was done in China, and the horror of it has led me to throw out my mutilating shoes. In fact, I am becoming so picky about shoe comfort that I have decided never again to wear a heel over 2 inches high again. My mother, who has had several bunion surgeries now, has long warned me against deforming footwear. And so the Manolo may tell us to ignore these things, but it is no secret that we women must frequently weigh the glory of the beautiful shoe against the pain of it, no matter how well crafted. And so it is only right that in Internet-land we have both the Manolo and the Shoebusters to articulate both sides of the essential conflict just so.

Anyone who has trod the streets of New York on a sizzling hot day after a queue of dogwalkers will appreciate the wisdom of wearing shoes.

While I’ll not deny the sublime pleasure of bare toes in warm sand or nestled in dewy cool, soft May grass, the idea that shoes are in any way connected to West Nile Virus or pretty much anything else on this dingaling’s site is…well. Everyone’s gotta have a hobby, I guess.

And I’ll give the guy points for tenacity, if not for intelligence.

Perhaps the Manolo and the anti-shoe blogger may compromise by creating a line of superfantastic thonged sandals for the warmer months. They will protect the feet from the pavements, yet let the toes splay out.

Btw, thong shoes cause the larger two toes to squish together to hold onto the shoe. Even my slippers cause my larger toes to hurt sometimes from holding them to my feet. Yay for the shoes.