Expert or Just Rich and Famous?

Why are Jim Carrey (who dropped out of high school), Jenny McCarthy (a model and actress), and Robert F Kennedy (an attorney by training) qualified to influence people about vaccinations? Is it because they are experts in human biology and immunology? Or is it because they are rich and famous?

I get a little frustrated seeing people eat up what Jim Carrey said about how the one-size-fits-all mentality does not apply to vaccines. He is partially right--one size actually only fits about 99% of kids. There are an extremely few individuals with immunodeficiencies (but soon all 50 states will be testing all newborns like they do in Wisconsin) that leave them with lives like "the bubble-boys." But when it comes to vaccines, the genes that control our immune systems are over 99% identical regardless of where you live and who you are (no that is not including the hypervariable VDJ recombo regions in our lymphocytes, but if you know what I'm talking about then you probably aren't anti-vaccine).

And what makes me mad is that people take what Jenny McCarthy say she 'thinks' about vaccines as guidance over what scientists, doctors, statisticians, and the 400,000 participants in the most recent and biggest vaccine efficacy/safety study say. It all seems to me like beauty and emotion are winning more people than logic, evidence and experience.

And what is a lawyer by profession saying about too many vaccines being a problem for kids? Kids and adults are exposed to BILLIONS of microbes every day, so limiting the amount of microbial peptides in a vaccine is not going to make them any safer--it will just make them less effective.

People argue that the science behind vaccines is over 200 years old. It is older than that--it is as old as humankind!--scientist just came to understand it then and use it for good. Just like electricity--it's always been there, we just haven't been able to do anything with it. And like with electricity, our understanding is getting better, so that's why the list of bugs covered by vaccines is growing and that's why they started to add adjuvants like thermisol (which contains mercury) in the first place--to make them better. But even when thermisol was in vaccines (up until the early 2000's), there was still more mercury in a tuna sandwhich than any vaccine. And mercury poisoning and autism are 2 completely different beasts, so it goes to show that people claiming the vaccine and autism link haven't studied medicine.

I'm tired of actors and politicians misusing their power and making little kids sick when it could have been prevented!

So that was on my mind and it's off so I can study in peace for my immunology test.

Illusion of Independence

So I have been studying (read "cramming") for a psychiatry test, and I have repeatedly thought "If only people didn't have the idea that they were completely independent and could do things on their own, they wouldn't have this problem in the first place."

No one is independent these days--we all rely on farmers to make food for us, and even farmers who grow their own food rely on store people for fertilizer, tractors, etc.

The psych lecture I was listening to that got me thinking about this was about people (especially doctors) thinking they didn't need help for depression and then they let it get worse and they end up doing things they regret in their saddened state.

Then the next lecture was about child psychiatry, and how families don't want to admit they need help with kids, but then once a crisis happens and help is forced on them, the child improves dramatically.

Independence is not right mindset--interdependence is better!!! See Stephen Covey's "7 Habits" book for more on interdependence;)

Global Warming Solutions

First off, if you like Al Gore, stop reading this.

A few years ago, I got an email from my dad about Al Gore, and how at the time he made his film on global warming, his mansion was the ultimate sign of hypocrisy.

Yesterday, I just found out about how Al Gore in 1997 recommended limiting family sizes to help solve global warming (yes, I'm over 10 years behind in my news). He has 4 kids, so what about himself?

I just want to say if you want to persuade people, set an example; don't be a hypocrite.