Published at Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s the politically correct thing to say, or because most people who are concerned about the likely relationship between vaccines and autism actually believe it, but changing the vaccine schedule has become the mantra of our autism times. “Let’s go back to the 1983 schedule” some have said, before there was this huge rise in autism. Or whatever schedule is eventually deemed the autism culprit.
But what will reverting to an earlier schedule really solve? If you’re only concerned about autism, it might solve a lot. And stopping the rise in autism is certainly a laudable goal.
I would submit, however, that if the autism community in the end concentrates only on autism, they would be doing to others what was done to them. By ignoring all the other damage vaccines may be causing, they would be treating the parents experiencing it and voicing their concerns as the understandably misguided in search of a scapegoat. Or even worse, as unimportant.
Had we listened to earlier reports of vaccine-injured or dead children, the entire autism fiasco might have been avoided. Had we insisted on properly designed studies, not ignored those earlier studies that showed evidence of harm, and demanded the right to choose not only our schedules, but whether or not to vaccinate at all, we might not be in this mess.
Lest we forget, people like Barbara Loe Fisher of NVIC didn’t get involved in this issue just for the fun of it. She had a severely vaccine-damaged non-autistic child and was as a consequence spurred to co-write “A Shot in the Dark”. Lest we forget, her child was vaccinated under the old schedule. Others like her have tried over the years to get the public’s attention, to little avail. It took the damage reaching epidemic proportions for the public to take notice, but only because parents of these autistic children are insisting that the vaccines caused the harm, there are too many of them to ignore, and we now have a public forum in the Internet.
Although I see clear signs that many in the autism community understand this, with calls for studies of never-vaccinated children in the hopes of determining whether or not vaccines are related not only to autism incidence, but to the rise in chronic disease and other modern afflictions plaguing our children, I fear that once any connection between autism and vaccines has been resolved that many in the autism community will wearily turn their backs on the rest.
I know it’s asking a lot. The plates of families with autism are more than full and I can imagine the relief such resolution would bring. But if the huge autism community stays involved, there is hope like never before that we will find out if SIDS, shaken baby syndrome (What could be worse, to have your baby die from vaccination and be charged with murder?), the rise in asthma, auto-immune disorders, allergies, childhood cancers – I could go on and on – are related to one or more vaccines.
On the one hand, we can all hope they are not related. Who in their right mind would want vaccines to cause harm? On the other hand, if vaccines are the cause, having an answer to why these afflictions are rising in incidence might well mean an end to the carnage.
Moreover, until and unless parents have the absolute right to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children, the vaccine manufacturers have no incentive to make them safer (to whatever extent that is possible). Of course, having their liability covered hasn’t made the vaccines safer, either, although the Poling case may have changed all that.
Let the free market determine whether or not and which vaccines are used.*
I know those seeking answers to the autism question do not want to appear anti-vaccine. But being in favor of valid, reliable studies, untainted by conflict of interest and for human rights should not be permitted to be characterized in that way. Being pro genuinely informed choice is simply not anti-vaccine. It is in our power to change that characterization. As Ed Arranga so eloquently pointed out in his Age of Autism column, “Words Win Wars”, it is also incumbent upon us that we communicate our meaning. We cannot allow others to define us and how our words are used.
Those families with vaccine damage unrelated to autism are surely praying for the answer to the cause(s) of autism, and if it is vaccine-induced, that we don’t flinch from the truth. Just as surely, however, they must be hoping to finally be seen and heard, once the hard, cold facts are known.
Our vigilance and attention to the question of vaccines must not end with resolution of the autism crisis. We must be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.
*For more on the question of mandatory vaccinations, see the “Scandals” columns On cheating “the other guy” and Forced Vaccinations - Musings on what the road to Hell is paved with .
by Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz)
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), paraphrasing John Philpot Curran (1808)
Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz) is the publisher of the website "Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation", and writer of the columns "Scandals" and "Out of Control".
Past Scandals and Out of Control.
©Copyright 2008 by Sandy Gottstein. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full ONLY with copyright, contact, creation, authorship, and information intact (including all links), without specific permission, and ONLY when used in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Sandy Gottstein is required.
Return to Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation Home Page (for best results, right click to "open in new window")
DISCLAIMER: All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care provider.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Scandals: The Shots Heard 'Round the World
Published at Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation
Note: This column and all future Scandals columns will be dedicated in loving memory to Nicholas Regush, my mentor, my adviser, my inspiration, but most of all, my friend.
Scandals - 03/11/08
The Shots Heard ‘Round the World
Note: I submitted a shorter version of this to the Anchorage Daily News, but this is what I was told - "Best I could to (Sic) on this subject is a letter to the editor, 225 words or less. Too much other competition for Compass space." If you believe this subject deserves more attention and would have liked to have seen my Op-Ed piece published at the newspaper, please email Matt Zencey at MZencey@adn.com.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware of the epidemic rise in autism. The “experts” have long insisted that vaccines are not involved. They swear that there is no credible evidence that thimerosal, MMR, or any other vaccine(s) might be responsible. Some “experts” have even say there is no increase, that it is merely a matter of improved diagnosis.
But they are the ones who have been living under a rock.
The government under the auspices of the Vaccine Court, set up to protect vaccine manufacturers from liability, just conceded what is being hailed as the first case implicating vaccines in a case of autism. (As it turns out there have been other cases, but the Polings were the first to come forward.) The family will be compensated in order to care for their severely vaccine-injured daughter, Hannah.
In the same way it has happened to thousands, a once completely healthy, even precocious child, regressed into autism. The court found that an underlying mitochondrial disorder was “worsened” by vaccines, resulting in “autistic-like” symptoms. (In case you are wondering, there is no difference between autism and autistic-like symptoms since autism is defined by those symptoms.) The clear-cut connection ended the case early.
The government and the medical profession would like us to believe that the condition is rare, and that the vaccines Hannah received were among many environmental factors that theoretically could have pushed her over the edge, although they concede in this case that it was the vaccines. What the government and the medical profession do not want us to consider, however, is that the vaccines might have caused the mitochondrial condition in the first place. Yet there is evidence (e.g. 1) that vaccines can do exactly that.
The government and the medical profession have tried to convince us that all those many parents who watched their once perfect children “disappear” after vaccination are seeking a scapegoat when there is none. Clearly, as a result of the Poling case, we now know vaccination can result in autism, although the “experts” would have us believe it is an isolated one.
But what else do we know?
Aside from David Kirby’s outstanding, award-winning book “Evidence of Harm”, here is a small sampling of the evidence ignored or dismissed by those in charge:
Considerably more autistic children are thought to have mitochondrial issues than those who do not have autism, thus the claim that it is a rare condition does not appear to apply to them.
Autistic children appear unable to rid their bodies of mercury. (Deth et al, Holmes et al)
Some populations that have not been exposed to vaccines experience little, if any, autism. (Olmsted, Generation Rescue)
Thimerosal has been shown to be toxic to brain cells. (Haley)
Mice injected with thimerosal develop autism-like symptoms. (Hornig)
Some children who have mercury chelated (chemically bound and removed) from their bodies show a reduction in autism symptoms. (Rimland)
“Children with autism excrete more mercury than controls.” (Bradstreet via Congressman Dave Weldon)
While ethylmercury may break down faster than methylmercury (found in fish), it results in more "inorganic" mercury in the brain, which stays longer. (Burbacher et al)
The reason boys are more affected than girls appears to be because "estrogen decreases thimerosal toxicity whereas testosterone increases the toxicity." (Haley)
Porphyrinuria implicates "environmental toxicity in childhood autistic disorder". (Nataf et al)
It may not be proof, but it sure as heck is evidence.
And regardless of what you might have heard, thimerosal never was completely removed from vaccines. The full amount is still found in flu vaccines, while trace amounts remain in many others. Although claims are made that "trace" amounts cause no harm, we simply do not know how much mercury is necessary to create autism in susceptible children.
All this is just a fraction of what has been uncovered. But don’t just take my word for it. As Mike Wagnitz, senior chemist at the University of Wisconsin once wrote in response to the widely promulgated myth that huge numbers of studies vindicate thimerosal:
"...this statement is the exact opposite of the truth. The only studies which suggest it is safe to inject humans with thimerosal are epidemiological studies done by the producers, distributors and administrators of vaccines. The vast majority of this propaganda is published in Pediatrics which is owned by the American Academy of Pediatrics. These epidemiological studies are the same type of studies used by the tobacco industry to show that smoking did not cause lung cancer. If one wants to find the truth about thimerosal they should start by reading the Material Safety Data Sheet. You can then go to the medical search engine "Pubmed" and type in thimerosal. You will get references to 1087 (there are now 1228 - author's note) published papers. Except for the papers published in Pediatrics, all the other papers focus on the extreme toxicity of thimerosal."
Einstein once said, "A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth". It is time to stop believing everything we are told by the medical establishment and the government about what is best for our children. They deserve better from us.
by Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz)
To read the AAP "reasoning" on why we have to continue using vaccines with thimerosal, go to "Scandals: Introducing the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new “Two Wrongs Make a Right” policy!"
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), paraphrasing John Philpot Curran (1808)
Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz) is the publisher of the website "Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation", and writer of the columns "Scandals" and "Out of Control".
Past Scandals and Out of Control.
©Copyright 2008 by Sandy Gottstein. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full ONLY with copyright, contact, creation, authorship, and information intact (including all links), without specific permission, and ONLY when used in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Sandy Gottstein is required.
Note: This column and all future Scandals columns will be dedicated in loving memory to Nicholas Regush, my mentor, my adviser, my inspiration, but most of all, my friend.
Scandals - 03/11/08
The Shots Heard ‘Round the World
Note: I submitted a shorter version of this to the Anchorage Daily News, but this is what I was told - "Best I could to (Sic) on this subject is a letter to the editor, 225 words or less. Too much other competition for Compass space." If you believe this subject deserves more attention and would have liked to have seen my Op-Ed piece published at the newspaper, please email Matt Zencey at MZencey@adn.com.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware of the epidemic rise in autism. The “experts” have long insisted that vaccines are not involved. They swear that there is no credible evidence that thimerosal, MMR, or any other vaccine(s) might be responsible. Some “experts” have even say there is no increase, that it is merely a matter of improved diagnosis.
But they are the ones who have been living under a rock.
The government under the auspices of the Vaccine Court, set up to protect vaccine manufacturers from liability, just conceded what is being hailed as the first case implicating vaccines in a case of autism. (As it turns out there have been other cases, but the Polings were the first to come forward.) The family will be compensated in order to care for their severely vaccine-injured daughter, Hannah.
In the same way it has happened to thousands, a once completely healthy, even precocious child, regressed into autism. The court found that an underlying mitochondrial disorder was “worsened” by vaccines, resulting in “autistic-like” symptoms. (In case you are wondering, there is no difference between autism and autistic-like symptoms since autism is defined by those symptoms.) The clear-cut connection ended the case early.
The government and the medical profession would like us to believe that the condition is rare, and that the vaccines Hannah received were among many environmental factors that theoretically could have pushed her over the edge, although they concede in this case that it was the vaccines. What the government and the medical profession do not want us to consider, however, is that the vaccines might have caused the mitochondrial condition in the first place. Yet there is evidence (e.g. 1) that vaccines can do exactly that.
The government and the medical profession have tried to convince us that all those many parents who watched their once perfect children “disappear” after vaccination are seeking a scapegoat when there is none. Clearly, as a result of the Poling case, we now know vaccination can result in autism, although the “experts” would have us believe it is an isolated one.
But what else do we know?
Aside from David Kirby’s outstanding, award-winning book “Evidence of Harm”, here is a small sampling of the evidence ignored or dismissed by those in charge:
Considerably more autistic children are thought to have mitochondrial issues than those who do not have autism, thus the claim that it is a rare condition does not appear to apply to them.
Autistic children appear unable to rid their bodies of mercury. (Deth et al, Holmes et al)
Some populations that have not been exposed to vaccines experience little, if any, autism. (Olmsted, Generation Rescue)
Thimerosal has been shown to be toxic to brain cells. (Haley)
Mice injected with thimerosal develop autism-like symptoms. (Hornig)
Some children who have mercury chelated (chemically bound and removed) from their bodies show a reduction in autism symptoms. (Rimland)
“Children with autism excrete more mercury than controls.” (Bradstreet via Congressman Dave Weldon)
While ethylmercury may break down faster than methylmercury (found in fish), it results in more "inorganic" mercury in the brain, which stays longer. (Burbacher et al)
The reason boys are more affected than girls appears to be because "estrogen decreases thimerosal toxicity whereas testosterone increases the toxicity." (Haley)
Porphyrinuria implicates "environmental toxicity in childhood autistic disorder". (Nataf et al)
It may not be proof, but it sure as heck is evidence.
And regardless of what you might have heard, thimerosal never was completely removed from vaccines. The full amount is still found in flu vaccines, while trace amounts remain in many others. Although claims are made that "trace" amounts cause no harm, we simply do not know how much mercury is necessary to create autism in susceptible children.
All this is just a fraction of what has been uncovered. But don’t just take my word for it. As Mike Wagnitz, senior chemist at the University of Wisconsin once wrote in response to the widely promulgated myth that huge numbers of studies vindicate thimerosal:
"...this statement is the exact opposite of the truth. The only studies which suggest it is safe to inject humans with thimerosal are epidemiological studies done by the producers, distributors and administrators of vaccines. The vast majority of this propaganda is published in Pediatrics which is owned by the American Academy of Pediatrics. These epidemiological studies are the same type of studies used by the tobacco industry to show that smoking did not cause lung cancer. If one wants to find the truth about thimerosal they should start by reading the Material Safety Data Sheet. You can then go to the medical search engine "Pubmed" and type in thimerosal. You will get references to 1087 (there are now 1228 - author's note) published papers. Except for the papers published in Pediatrics, all the other papers focus on the extreme toxicity of thimerosal."
Einstein once said, "A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth". It is time to stop believing everything we are told by the medical establishment and the government about what is best for our children. They deserve better from us.
by Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz)
To read the AAP "reasoning" on why we have to continue using vaccines with thimerosal, go to "Scandals: Introducing the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new “Two Wrongs Make a Right” policy!"
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), paraphrasing John Philpot Curran (1808)
Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz) is the publisher of the website "Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation", and writer of the columns "Scandals" and "Out of Control".
Past Scandals and Out of Control.
©Copyright 2008 by Sandy Gottstein. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full ONLY with copyright, contact, creation, authorship, and information intact (including all links), without specific permission, and ONLY when used in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Sandy Gottstein is required.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Scandals: On cheating "the other guy"
Published at Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation
Note: This column and all future Scandals columns will be dedicated in loving memory to Nicholas Regush, my mentor, my adviser, my inspiration, but most of all, my friend.
There's an urban landmark in the town where I live, a popular bar called Chilkoot Charlie's, with arguably one of the greatest advertising come-ons of all time: "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you".
It's a hysterical line, and we can all get a chuckle out of the obvious and intended absurdity of that slogan.
I fear the joke may be on us, however, for it has occurred to me that Public Health's vaccination policy, which expects personal sacrifice for the so-called common good, is in a way a very serious attempt to implement this intentionally senseless and foolish motto. Moreover, the reason the attempt has worked, been accepted, been bought by the public, is that most people truly believe, at least until it obviously happens to them, that someone else is doing the sacrificing, not them.
But isn't the notion that it's the other guy who's making the sacrifices, that it's the other guy's children who are going to pay with their health, so ours can thrive, at best an iffy proposition?
At worst, isn't it an immoral one as well?
The truth is, public health can't really cheat the other guy and give you, me or anyone else the savings.
It's not right and it's not true.
As long as vaccine damage continues to be institutionally denied, we may be able fool ourselves into believing that the damage is not only minimal, but that it is also "only" happening to the other guy.
However, we do so at our own peril. For we have met the "other guy", and he is us.
by Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz)
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), paraphrasing John Philpot Curran (1808)
Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz) is the publisher of the website "Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation", and writer of the columns "Scandals" and "Out of Control".
Past Scandals and Out of Control.
©Copyright 2008 by Sandy Gottstein. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full ONLY with copyright, contact, creation, authorship, and information intact (including all links), without specific permission, and ONLY when used in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Sandy Gottstein is required.
Return to Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation Home Page
DISCLAIMER: All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care provider.
Note: This column and all future Scandals columns will be dedicated in loving memory to Nicholas Regush, my mentor, my adviser, my inspiration, but most of all, my friend.
There's an urban landmark in the town where I live, a popular bar called Chilkoot Charlie's, with arguably one of the greatest advertising come-ons of all time: "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you".
It's a hysterical line, and we can all get a chuckle out of the obvious and intended absurdity of that slogan.
I fear the joke may be on us, however, for it has occurred to me that Public Health's vaccination policy, which expects personal sacrifice for the so-called common good, is in a way a very serious attempt to implement this intentionally senseless and foolish motto. Moreover, the reason the attempt has worked, been accepted, been bought by the public, is that most people truly believe, at least until it obviously happens to them, that someone else is doing the sacrificing, not them.
But isn't the notion that it's the other guy who's making the sacrifices, that it's the other guy's children who are going to pay with their health, so ours can thrive, at best an iffy proposition?
At worst, isn't it an immoral one as well?
The truth is, public health can't really cheat the other guy and give you, me or anyone else the savings.
It's not right and it's not true.
As long as vaccine damage continues to be institutionally denied, we may be able fool ourselves into believing that the damage is not only minimal, but that it is also "only" happening to the other guy.
However, we do so at our own peril. For we have met the "other guy", and he is us.
by Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz)
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), paraphrasing John Philpot Curran (1808)
Sandy Gottstein (aka Mintz) is the publisher of the website "Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation", and writer of the columns "Scandals" and "Out of Control".
Past Scandals and Out of Control.
©Copyright 2008 by Sandy Gottstein. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full ONLY with copyright, contact, creation, authorship, and information intact (including all links), without specific permission, and ONLY when used in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Sandy Gottstein is required.
Return to Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation Home Page
DISCLAIMER: All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care provider.
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