The first time I mentioned it in passing - maybe ever so slightly to dismiss his opinion based on his location, I will admit. I mean a family doc from Lytton, BC is not exactly a research scientist from Johns Hopkins. But it was not meant to be condescending. I generally try to look at the merits of someone's argument over who's making the argument
But when you repeated the phrase, for some reason it just sounded funny. I know it wasn't your description of Dr Zelenko - you were just pointing out that the same could also be said of him, but it still sounded funny. Suddenly we were talking about 'backwoods doctors'. A backwoods doctor here, a backwoods doctor there.. For humorous effect (maybe not to you) I repeated the phrase a few more times. But there was no condescension.. in the way elitist liberals condescend toward conservatives.
As for the (not)anecdotal bit, you are right, it wasn't anecdotal since Dr Zelenko himself treated patients with that drug combo and with great results. The difference is Dr Zelenko , even though "just a family doc", has hard evidence - and a lot of it - to back up his claims, whereas on the Canadian doctor's part it's just speculation on what might happen years down the road. His speculation would carry weight if he were a specialist in immunology, virology, etc and associated with a major research hospital - but he isn't.
When I read Dr. Zelenko's bio, I saw that he interned at the hospital in the area where I lived as a child.
Admittedly, it's not "backwater," it's in Nassau County on Long Island just over the NYC border. He now lives just north of Westchester County in New York, in the area that is just outside of the NYC metro area, and probably the beginning of what the city people think of as "upstate."
-PJ