Autism and Vaccines

The debate concerning vaccines and the explosive increase in autism and autism spectrum disorders has flared up recently due to a court decision that vaccines aggravated a child's medical condition and resulted in autism.

Both sides are passionate about their views. One side because they believe the vaccines are directly responsible for a degeneration in their child's brain development. The opposing side because it will mean big bucks by means of multiple lawsuits if they are found to be covering up for incompetent medical decisions.

As a teacher and the grandmother of a child currently being evaluated for an autism spectrum disorder I side with those who believe these vaccines have played a significant role in compromising a whole generation of children. It's not just the thimerosol, the mercury based preservative used in the vaccines until recently; it's injecting multiple live vaccines into the bodies of infants and young children.

There are guidelines about the proper timing of introducing certain foods into a child's system. No honey before a child is 1 year old, no peanut products before the child is 2 years old. To give them these foods before the above stated ages increases their risk of an allergic reaction. Yet, the medical profession blithely pumps toxins into a newborn baby's body without batting an eye. How much sense does this make? (The oh-so-obvious answer is none.)

A recent article posted on ABC News stated:

"Major health authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization, have all studied and rejected possible links between autism and vaccines."

So, to summarize, government funded studies show no link between autism and government mandated vaccines. To quote Gomer Pyle, "Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!"

The powers that be would also have us believe that they removed the thimerosol from vaccines in 2002 out of the goodness of their hearts. More likely it was to cover the wideness of their butts.

The truth about autism is a mystery. Much of the working of the brain is an unknown. But I think we're about to see some of the questions answered. Thanks to the persistence of family members who recognized the correlation between the administration of vaccines and the presentation of autistic behavior in their child. Thanks to doctors and child development experts who are willing to swim upstream and lend their voices to opposing a flawed system that is supposed to protect our children not leave them vulnerable.

No one suggests that our children should not be protected against diseases that could be life-threatening. But to treat them with vaccines that could potentially cause damage to their brains is not an acceptable trade off.

Dee

Change, change, change....change of fools

Everywhere you look, or listen in the mainstream media you encounter it. Pounding and incessant, the drumbeat for change spreads across the face of the nation. It grows louder and more irritating by the minute

Obama Barak cries out for us to "Believe". What should we believe?...That it's time for a change and he will bring it.

Hillary Clinton disagrees. She is the true choice, because only she has the experience, leverage, courage, decisiveness, etc. to be a true agent of change.

I saw a reporter ask a voter who she had voted for in the Texas primary. She gave him a wide smile and said, "Obama." The reporter followed up by asking her why she had made this choice. The smile faded and a look of confusion passed over her face before she replied very rotely, "For change." Of course, the interviewer never posed the proper follow up question: What kind of change do you want?"

Significant political change must be considered carefully, intelligently, measure for measure, tested for the purity of its content, and weighed for its worth Most of the time, you discover that what's being offered as change is recycled junk dressed up with new paint.

In my heart, I believe that a large part of America can be duped into thinking that change is a good thing - very modern, very stylish. After all, we are in the habit of change. We upgrade everything. We change jobs. We move. We change spouses and partners. We change cars, cell phones, computers and electronic paraphernalia with ease. Well...you get the picture.
We are no longer comfortable with hard choices, staying the course, or plans that don't show results in nintey days.

A point in case is the election of former Baltimore Mayor O'Malley to the governorship of Maryland in our last gubenatorial race. Maryland is an extremely Democratic controlled state, and ordinarily, everyone would have expected this candidate to win. Folks here voted to send a message to President Bush that they wanted a change in his Iraq policy. All the while the mayor promised changes for Maryland. Full funding of educational programs, health care solutions, higher taxes, etc.

They are living to regret their choice. O'Malley's current popularity hovers around the 3