He just blew any credibility he might have had in my opinion, to comment "authoritatively" on anything.
"All of us necessarily hold many casual opinions that are ludicrously wrong simply because life is far too short for us to think through even a small fraction of the topics that we come across." -- Julian Simon, PhD
As I said, I don't care for everything he says; I too think he's dead wrong on that and other points sometimes, but I certainly do enjoy a lot of what he does say, and the nerve he has to say some outrageous things. Even Albert Einstein was wrong on some things. Methinks you judge too harshly, but that's certainly your right to do so.
I agree with you about NB. If it were genetic then how could it be possible for those that choose to turn from that lifestyle to have done so? Its a choice issue stemming from some mental problems IMO. Of course, like Neal, I am no authority either.