Deadly Immunity
Several weeks ago on Imus in the Morning on MSNBC, Don Imus was talking with guest Chris Mathews of Hardball fame. During their conversation, Imus attempted to convince Mathews to devote one (1) show to the controversial topic of thimerosal and its connection with autism. Mathews stuttered and squirmed, eventually saying we all have our causes.
I was angry at Mathews and with his ease of pushing the topic under the rug. Sure, he can devote weeks of shows ad nauseam on Swift Boat Veterans or Russell Crowe’s throwing of a cell phone, but he can’t help to shed a little light on thimerosal and its links to speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity and autism. My knee-jerk response was to write an attacking post aimed at the spineless Mathews. However, I let it pass. I had already shared my personal thoughts on the thimerosal-autism connection and there was no sense in repeating myself.
Last month when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote Deadly Immunity, a scathing article published in RollingStone about the link between mercury in vaccines and the dramatic rise in autism amongst children and the massive government cover-up, I felt that finally there was a well-known and respected voice that would be heard on the issue. Kennedy not only has name recognition, but he’s recognized as the country’s most prominent environmental attorney. Surely with Kennedy speaking about the issue the mass media could no longer sweep it under the rug and perhaps it would spark a government investigation.
Obviously, I was wrong. Thus far Kennedy has received similar treatment that reporter David Kirby received after writing Evidence of Harm. Although Kirby’s book is a NY Times bestseller, the network morning shows and cable news programs have refused to book him. According to Kirby, only Don Imus, Jon Stewart, Montel Williams, and a local news station have had him on to discuss his book. While Kennedy too has been on Imus and Stewart’s Daily Show, the mass media has also refused to book him, yet this has not prevented them from knocking Kennedy and dismissing his findings. In response to the media’s reaction, RollingStone editors recently wrote “What is most striking is the lengths to which major media outlets have gone to disparage the story and to calm public fears — even in the face of the questionable science on the subject.”
Yesterday there was a march and rally on Capitol Hill to protest the continued use of mercury preservatives in vaccines given to children and pregnant women. While it was the largest rally to date protesting vaccine risks, with parent organizations joined by physicians and legislators, the march wasn’t covered by the mass media. If it had not been for the media coverage of Tuesday’s suspiciously timed secret press conference held by the CDC to dispute any correlation between mercury in vaccines and the dramatic rise in autism among children, I wouldn’t have known of yesterday’s march at all.
** A 2001 Emory University Study watched ABC, CBS, and NBC in the Atlanta area for one week and found 907 advertisements for over-the-counter drugs and 428 advertisements for prescription drugs.
“If, as the evidence suggests, our public-health authorities knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children, their actions arguably constitute one of the biggest scandals in the annals of American medicine.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Excerpt from Deadly Immunity)
Quote from Dr. Boyd Haley, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Kentucky and one of the world’s leading authorities on mercury toxicity: “You couldn’t even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe. It’s just too darn toxic. If you inject thimerosal into an animal, its brain will sicken. If you apply it to living tissue, the cells die. If you put it in a petri dish, the culture dies. Knowing these things, it would be shocking if one could inject it into an infant without causing damage.” (Excerpt from Deadly Immunity)
Related Links:
SafeMinds
Unlocking Autism
National Vaccine Information Center
NoMercury
Moms Against Mercury
Dads Against Mercury
July 21st, 2005 at 8:06 am
Kane,
I saw Kennedy on “The Daily Show” last night and thought immediately about your very personal entry about your experience and your thoughts about the subject. Thanks for shedding light on the subject.
July 21st, 2005 at 8:18 am
I thought that vaccines with thimerosal were not manufactured anymore. Obviously not. It’s a shame the government is protecting BigPharma (or itself, from lawsuits) instead of our children, the future of the world. That’s big DAMN shame.
Thanks for the links and this eye opening post, Kane.
July 21st, 2005 at 3:25 pm
I heard the ad for the show on TV, and thought about you. I had HOPED that there would be some light shed on it, and some sort of proof of what is happening. After reading your post last time and the info you gave, its evident and something needs to be done to stop children from getting the vaccine.
*BIG HUGS*
July 21st, 2005 at 3:54 pm
I work with a lot of autistic kids at the riding school and always wonder if they are victims of bad vaccines. Kennedy’s Rolling Stone piece is awesome, and you’re right to shame the media for ignoring it.
July 21st, 2005 at 4:56 pm
La Chica, I was glad to see Kennedy on The Daily Show. Thank goodness for Jon Stewart!
Marie, many states have written legislation banning or phasing-out the use of thimerosal in vaccines. However, thimerosal is continued to be used in several pediatric flu shots as well as tetanus boosters. And, as Kennedy points out, the CDC and FDA has bought the tainted vaccines and are using them for export to developing countries. As if the world doesn’t already have enough ammo to be angry with us, wait until they find out that we’re giving their children thimerosal.
Karen, I hope that I haven’t misled you. Vaccines are fine as far as I know, and children should be vaccinated. However, the controversy is surrounding the preservative thimerosal that is put into the vaccine.
Peggy, I agree, the Kennedy article is awesome. I wish that I could get everyone to read it. What truly amazes me that Kennedy was able to compile such evidence, and he’s not even a part of the media.
July 22nd, 2005 at 11:02 am
Hi Kane, I read the whole Rolling Stone article on the way home yesterday. It was very enlightening. I’m glad to note that California has banned the use of thimerosal though it is still alarming to know that other states haven’t followed and worse, the CDC continues to allow its use. To add insult to injury, developing nations are getting them and like you said, this may further fuel anti-American sentiment once more people know about the damage that is being done.
September 7th, 2005 at 8:52 pm
I am the father of a 4 year old diagnosed with autism. I am convinced that his disorder was caused by thimerosal, and I am disgusted at the government, pharmaceutical industry, and mainstream media for ignoring facts in exchange for profit. Sadly, until more prominant people than I are faced with autism in their lives, such as the CEO of NBC Universal and Indiana Representative Dan Burton, probably nothing will be done. If I have been misinformed please correct me; however, I heard that Thimerosal has not been phased out of childhood vaccines, only the requirement that Thimerosal be listed as a preservative contained in the vaccines on the label of the vaccinations vial has been phased out, and the CDC is putting a spin on this to say Thimerosal has been removed, when in fact it is still there, just no longer labeled.