By Cathy Jameson

After both my sister and my mother asked me if I'd seen Mike Rowe's latest Off the Wall post, I knew I needed to read it. I trust my family's input on several topics. I also tend to like and agree with several things Mike Rowe has shared.

I see many thoughtful take-aways from him, but the one part that stuck with me the longest hours after reading it was Mike Rowe's regrets. How many of us in our community have shared the regret of not listening to our instinct? Of taking a medical professional's biased opinion as actual fact? Of wishing we could've done things differently? I'd say many of us have.

Regrets can be unfortunate, but they can also keep us from making the same mistake again. To Mike Rowe, thank you for sharing your thoughts, your wise words, and those regrets. You'll grow from them. I guarantee it.

###

Off the Wall - Read the post and bookmark Mike Rowe's blog here.

Mike – I read several months ago that you got the vaccine. I’m glad. But I’m also curious. You have a lot of people on this page who respect your opinion - many of whom I’d wager are unvaccinated. Have you encouraged them to follow your example? If not, what are you waiting for? As you surely know, Delta is raging. The sooner we’re all vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal!

Steve Manchin

Hi Steve

The short answer is no - I have not publicly encouraged anyone to get vaccinated. In fact, I have recently declined to participate in several PSA's designed to persuade people to get the jab. That’s not because I’m opposed to vaccines, obviously. Vaccines have saved more lives than any other advancement in the long history of medicine, and to your point, I got the shots the minute I was eligible. But I’m not a doctor, Steve, and even though I occasionally play one on TV, I’m not inclined to dispense medical advice to the people on this page.

True, I did appear in a few PSA’s early on, back when they assured us that locking down was essential to keeping our hospitals from being overrun. “Two weeks to flatten the curve!” Remember that one? That of course, turned out to be untrue, and I regret my role in helping perpetuate that particular falsehood. I also regret what I said during the first Zoom show to air in primetime. It was an episode of After the Catch, where I discussed the lockdowns with a few crab-boat captains. At one point, I looked into the camera lens on my computer and said, with uncharacteristic earnestness, “For the first time in a long time, it appears we’re all in the same boat.”

We’ve been barred from Google News for years. Our stories used to be indexed and shared often. Good to see Google is disseminating important information for families. This alert came through in my email for "autism".  Testing anecdotal evidence on... puppets. Maybe Bert and Ernie will take over care for our kids when we die?  

Points if you get the headline joke.  If not, here you go.

Who remembers Andrew "Diceman" Clay’s filthy nursery rhymes in the 80s??  My ex had a tape in his car. (Insert hindsight emoji.) Here’s one I just made up! Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a shot that’s falsy. Dice Clay was down & now he frowns because he got Bell’s Palsy.

Full  Disclaimer - I have NO idea how he got Bell's Palsy. None. I am making a joke about the jab, which has included BP as a side effect. And we know about “side effects.”  Becasue if we don't laugh a little, we will all go stark raving mad.

And of course, we send thoughts and prayers for a full and complete recovery.  I was thinking of seeing him live next month here in Connecticut. 

By the way, If you get a chance to see Jim Breuer on his Live and Let Laugh tour, GO! I saw him last weekend and he slayed the audience with his take on the last 16 months. Trust me, our readers would howl with laughter.

The real story for Dice Clay isn't that he's angry at the media for their dismissal of his career, it is that so far, none of the comments say, "Did you get the Covid or any other vaccine that lists Bell's Palsy as a side effect?" No one dares or no one has connected the dots, I don't know. I'm not in the mood to have my arse handed to me on a silver platter, so I did not bother to  chime in with what is to our readers, a logical question.

From his Facebook page: Read it here.

I Really Don’t Understand Why This Bells Palsy Thing Has Taken On A Media Blitz. It’s Not Like I Tried To Hide It. It’s A Temporary Issue And I’m Still Just As Gorgeous With It! The Most Untruthful Thing About These Articles…Is About My Hiatus For 20 Years From The World Of Stand Up Comedy. I Have Never Stopped Performing Live. One Of The Reasons Why People Call Journalism Fake News…Please, Just The Facts From Now On. I Am Working Out Constantly As You Can See From My Posts And Have Been Killing It With My Live Performances. See You At @citywinerynyc Monday Night!

By Anne Dachel

Every couple of years when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gets around to updating the autism numbers, which are always increasing and never at a plateau, I’m left wondering one thing: WHAT IF THINGS GET EVEN WORSE?

Part 5

HOW BAD DO THINGS HAVE TO GET?

When will autism become a crisis in America?

 (It should be noted, since I follow this news religiously, that no U.S. health official has ever called autism a crisis. The “C” word is never to be used in the same sentence with the word autism. I’m sure that’s directive sent out to all staffers when talking about autism.)

No reporter has ever inquired about worsening numbers, and officials are never worried.

Ten years ago we learned that one in 38 children in South Korea had autism. We’ve seen one in 27 in Hong Kong, one in 22  school children in Northern Ireland, and most recently, one in every 14 kids in Toms River , NJ, including one in every eight boys.

It’s clear that the people in charge of public health will never really care about autism, even as it buries us.

Question 5: How will we manage to provide for more and more children with developmental disorders in our schools at the same time huge numbers of autistic young people are aging out of school and looking for adult services?    

Mark Blaxill Autism Tsunami Part 5

Mark: One thing about our models, Anne, was that they were all arithmetic. They were programmed. … We had to make assumptions about birth cohorts in children who have not yet come into the world. So we had to assume what the rate of autism was going forward.

So we did arrange some scenarios, because we don’t know that.

And then we applied cost per individual by age. There are numbers on that. You can find that. There’s a literature.

But when you add all that up together and you project it forward, what is left out of that is the budget.

Where does the money come from?

Will there be constraints? What will happen? Will we hit some brick wall that we can’t afford?

We’ll have ghettos of autistic adults because all of a sudden state legislators won’t provide funding, or it’ll break the bank.

There’s a whole dynamic: the provision of dollars and the demand for dollars.  We basically modeled the demand for dollars, but the provision of dollars will not be infinite. It can’t rise forever. There will be pushback, and the system might just break.

You talk to Toby Rogers. Toby and I and Cindy talk about that.

It’s a model, but it’s not the flesh and blood of the real world and the interplay of markets and institutions and resources.

Resources are not endlessly available for populations that don’t earn.

NOTE:  This is part 4 of a 5 part series running all week. Parts 1, 2 and 3 are below. At the end of the series, we'll reorganize to run it in order. Thank you.

By Anne Dachel

What is autism going to cost?

One of the convenient results of the lie that autism is nothing new in the human population is that it seems we’ve somehow been able to handle things. If autistic people have always been around, we’ve provided for them, even if we didn’t call their disability autism.

That’s a delusion, yet it’s still going strong, no matter how bad the numbers get.

The one thing no official has ever called for is a study on the autism rate among adults. Telling us something but never having to show proof is pretty much the history of the federal government when it comes to autism.

My often repeated question has never been talked about: Why can’t young autistic adults go where autistic adults have always gone? We must have done something with them, even if we didn’t call them autistic.

The fact that we’re desperately short of services for these disabled young  adults is more proof of lie we’ve been told.

Meanwhile there are endless stories from across the country over the last two decades about training people to deal with autistic children: fire fighters, ER personnel, police, teachers, airport staff, librarians, doctors and lots of other groups.

We’ve made other adjustments like sensitive Santas in stores at Christmas, autism-friendly movie showings, sensory/calming rooms in schools, to name only a few.

And as this population of autistic children ages out of school and into the adult population, many more adjustments will have to be made, and we’ll all be paying for them. Autism awareness will be everywhere.

Incredibly all this seems to be happening with no questions being asked. Somehow it’s insensitive to talk about where all these kids are coming from.

Mark Blaxill Autism Tsunami Part 4

Question 4:  Where will we see the biggest drain on resources and funding: federal, state, or local levels?

Mark: The question of who pays is going to be a big one, and what we know is that we will see a massive shift in who pays.

Right now most of the autistic population is children, and so what that means is parents pay. Either they pay directly out of their pocket or they lose the ability to work. So there is lost parental productivity.

We’ve all felt that. Autism and fighting for your autistic child is not a good career move.

There’s lost productivity. It’s more often women than men, but there are subtle effects. People’s lives change, and they have fewer children.

There are just so many effects of autism on the parents. There’s a large burden that is borne by the parents.

NOTE:  This is part 3 of a 5 part series running all week. Parts 1 and 2 are below. At the end of the series, we'll reorganize to run it in order. Thank you.

By Anne Dachel

For years I’ve written about something I call “the really big lie about autism.” That is  the continual and baseless claim that all the autism everywhere among our children is merely the result of “better diagnosing/greater awareness/expanded definition” of a disorder that’s always been around.

Each and every time an official increase in the autism has been announced, there was always some federal official assuring the public that they weren’t sure IF THIS INCREASE represented a true increase in the number of children with autism.

Their real meaning was FROM THE LAST OFFICIAL INCREASE, but they knew that the media lackeys  would spin the message to read, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A REAL INCREASE IN AUTISM.

As long as that lie works, they can all relax. Autism only requires recognition and services. Allocate more funds and life goes on.

Back in 2006 I was in Washington with two doctors visiting congressional offices. We had an appointment with the chief of staff of my representative, Dave Obey of Wisconsin. During our meeting we laid out the evidence on the increases in autism and the cost predictions.

Obey’s chief of state’s response was this: “So what’s the solution? Congressmen don’t like problems without solutions.”

The three of responded together, “We have to stop it.”

That pretty much ended our conversation. She wasn’t interested in what that would involve.

Mark Blaxill autism tsunami Part 3

Question 3: Why aren’t health officials focused on this? Why do they continue to tell us with each new rate increase that they are still not sure if more children actually have autism?

Mark:  That’s a really interesting question. I think there are multiple answers.

At one level, most of the people in these jobs have relatively short career time horizons, so they’re looking for their next job. They’re in for not very long.

If they can defer dealing with tough questions for two, five, 10 years, they don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Autism parents have a much longer time horizon. Our time horizon is longer than our own lives. Our time horizon goes decades long

We’re worried about the lives of our children when we’re gone, so we are the ones carrying the message.

At some level it’s just short term, long term thinking.  .

It’s a tough question to answer.

Another reason they don’t answer is they don’t have a good answer that  they like.

NOTE:  This is part 2 of a 5 part series running all week. Part 1 is below. At the end of the series, we'll reorganize to run it in order. Thank you.

By Anne Dachel

A few years ago, the parent of a daughter with severe autism talked with me about the last IEP meeting he attended during her final year in high school.

The father asked the staff about what was next for his child. What adult programs would there be for her?

Her teachers had to admit that they didn’t know of any specific programs in the area at the same time they assured him that they were sure there would be something.

It was no big surprise for him to learn that no one is prepare for young adults with autism. His daughter was moved from one program for developmentally disabled adults to another, with none of them equipped to deal with her behavioral needs. Today social services pays a relative to babysit her all day.

This is but one tiny example of the future that Mark Blaxill talks about here.

Mark Blaxill Autism Tsunami Part 2

Question 2: How bad will things get if the autism rate increases continue at the rate they have in the past?

Mark: It’ll get really bad. We know that. I like to say that before 1930, the rate of autism in the world was effectively zero.

Then Leo Kanner discovered it in a handful of children who were born in the 1930s. He wrote his paper in 1943 after seeing a bunch of children who were unlike any other group he’d ever seen before.

He was the world’s leading expert in child psychiatry. For many years thereafter, in the U.S. at least, the rates were really low, one in 10,000.

Then they began to tick up a little bit in the 70s and 80s, but in the late 90s they went vertical. We haven’t seen the plateau in that curve.

The latest numbers we have are something like three percent in American children. There are numbers that are even higher than that in some places.

What that means is, if you were born in 1930, you’d be 90 today. … So there are people who are alive today who were around when there was no autism. The first cases of autism, some of them are still alive. I have met a couple of them, but they are vanishingly rare.

So we have no system for elderly adults with autism whose parents are no longer with us.

We have been struggling all over the world in special education programs to deal with the onslaught of children.

NOTE:  We'll have an audio file to accompany Anne's transcription.  This is part 1 of a 5 part series. Thank you.

By Anne Dachel

Mark Blaxill Autism Tsunami Part 1

Question 1: Tell us about your study, Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States.  What motivated you and the other authors to look into the future impact of autism? 

Mark: My motivation has been 20 years long. (Inaudible)…and it was pretty obvious for too long, the numbers were exploding.

California and everywhere you looked, the numbers were going up, and that invalidated the orthodox story line.

(Inaudible) Mark dismissed the official claims of better diagnosing/diagnostic substitution.

And we’ve known that for a long time, Anne.

I first started writing about that in 2001, 2003, in that area. I started writing in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders when they started trying to blame it on diagnostic substitution.

It was obvious that the work that they were doing …(inaudible)

I wrote to them. I got some colleagues to write. …

The authors that argued that it was diagnostic substitution had to retract their findings because it was obvious that they were arithmetically wrong.

The rate of autism was going up, and the rate of intellectual disability was not declining.

Then I wrote a paper that was published in 2004, What’s going on? The question of time trends in autism.

I argued that the rates were going up and it was real, all over the world, particularly in the United States and the UK.

I know you focus very heavily on the United States and the UK both of which have rates that are going up.

And then I kept writing about it.

I wrote a book called The Age of Autism.

I wrote another book called Denial, both with Dan Olmsted.

One in 2010 and another in 2017.

You’re kind of screaming at the universe, please pay attention. This is a crisis.

Anne, you do this every day. I do this in longer cycle projects. We’re doing much of the same work.

By Cathy Jameson

Scrolling through a local news website, I saw a nurse being interviewed about the COVID shot.  The blurb that accompanied the video shared that the “…assistant dean of the Columbia University School of Nursing says there needs to be a ‘multifactorial’ approach when trying to convince people to get vaccinated.”  The Associated Press also shared the link with the nurse,  who’s part of this CDC-funded organization.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NLHJbOon0Q

As I watched, it was clear that the message was not to inform or educate the public about the shot.  It was to do everything possible “to get the last percentage of people vaccinated”.  Since that hasn’t happened, despite an abundance of free vaccines being available, groups, including the US government, are using all sorts of approaches to peer pressure everyone to get vaccinated.  The nurse suggests using other people – spokespeople of the same race, church representatives, youth ambassadors, and celebrities.  Other techniques are to use avenues like social media.  Getting the right people to tell their own story to these last few Americans could be convincing.  Smiling through the short interview, she seemed proud of strategies and tactics she suggested to raise vaccine confidence. 

All over the web, like clockwork, other local news stations and websites shared the exact same message. 

The nurse’s message aligned with Biden’s latest complaint that not every American has gotten the shot. 

I know he struggles sometimes, but Biden, like those funds the nurse’s mission, have not gotten the message that some Americans do not want the shot, cannot take the shot, and will not get that shot.  These Americans aren’t perseverating their message as much as the administration currently is, but they’ve been vocal, too.  

They’ve confidently said no.

They’ve politely said no, thank you.

They’ve emphatically said no!

I tried to sum up Covid vaccine hesitation and outright refusal in a Tweet.  I'm pretty sure Twitter is holding back our Tweets - our likes and RTs are very low given we have over 30,000 followers.  Still, I persevere.  Follow us at @AgeofAutism

Why are we supposed to be Kerri Strug, 1996 Olympics gymnast who was encouraged - coerced - to vault on a badly turned ankle to appease her coach, her team, her nation?

We are asking to be treated with respect and understanding, like Simone Biles. 

 Looks like I triggered bots and anything but’ers yesterday. Look at the knee-jerk dismissal. The anger. Buyers Remorse is as contagious as Covid. I don’t dare tell them I wrote for HuffPo for almost 10 years. My name change has really been a savior! A few folks are chiming in with agreement that asking is in order, and that's encouraging. I especially liked one comment that "There is no evidence that this vaccine could do that!" There's no evidence I ate the last chocolate cookie on the plate at midnight either. Not even a crumb.

Jjhhg

Got this Facebook friend request yesterday, Friday. It makes a much sense as most of what we read and hear these days! And we could use the laugh. THIS is the true meaning our of "current AFFAIRS" category. LOL! Have a good weekend.

Over the last few years, and certainly since the COVID lockdown in 2020, we've discussed how we will communicate if and when we are "shut down" whether by social media or web platforms, or even our employers. When AofA was launched 14 years ago, one of our main focuses was on mercury. Since that time, aluminum has become a topic of grave concern, due in large part to the work of Professor Christopher Exley, whose tenure at Keele University in the UK will be coming to a close at the end of August.

Professor Exley is creating a website where you can continue to follow and support his important work. We invite you to click in and SUBSCRIBE to updates.

Welcome to the Aluminium Research Group

Are you interested in keeping in touch with our research? If so, please feel free to subscribe to our mailing list here, thank you: Subscribe

The Birchall Centre

Welcome to the website of the Aluminium Research Group. The group was previously based in The Birchall Centre, Keele University from 1992 to 2021. We are currently looking for a new home. In the meantime we have set up this website to keep as many as possible informed about our research and research activities.

Our Research

The Unit started off with three general themes, of which our group focus is Aluminium and Silicon in Biology. The group is led by Professor Christopher Exley, FRSB and the current research themes within the group are varied, including metals and amyloids; biosilicification in plant species; human exposure to Aluminium, whether intentional (e.g. in antiperspirants or adjuvants) or unintentional; and hydroxyaluminosilicates.

via GIPHY

Got your jab? Congratulations!  And God bless you.  No, really.  From The Mirror:

Brits who catch coronavirus after receiving the jab are more likely to sneeze than those who have not been vaccinated, according to the UK ZOE Covid Symptom Study app

Vaccinated Brits who have caught coronavirus are reporting a unique symptom of the disease.

The most common indicators of the virus are a temperature, a new persistent cough and a loss or change of taste or smell.

But people who have undergone the jab are more likely to report sneezing as a symptom than those yet to receive the vaccine, according to King's College London.

Finally, something we can all DO about avoiding COVID without needing Doc or feeling Grumpy. Don't be Dopey! Run away from people who are sneezing up a storm. 

FUD: fear, uncertainty and doubt, usually evoked intentionally in order to put a competitor at a disadvantage.

Two Olympians were in the news yesterday, and not for their amazing skills or record shattering accomplishments. 

'I have to focus on my mental health,' says Simone Biles after withdrawing from gold medal event

Tennis star Naomi Osaka eliminated from Olympics, cites pressureTennis star Naomi Osaka eliminated from Olympics, cites pressure

What is happening to young people? These women are the cream of the crop, yet crumbling. I think social media plays a huge role in the pressure. Everyone's a critic has never been truer. Also, being a female. And both are females of color. Last night on NPR, the guest was the author of a book called, "The Revolt of the Black Athlete." Again relating the rebellion of black athletes to a larger spirit of revolt among black citizens, Edwards moves his story forward to our era of protests, boycotts, and the dramatic politicization of athletes by Black Lives Matter. Incisive yet ultimately hopeful, The Revolt of the Black Athlete is the still-essential study of the conflicts at the interface of sport, race, and society. I caught a good portion, and it was an eye opening segment.

In 1980, men's hockey had the weight of the Cold War on their shoulders as they skated against the Soviets for the win. I worry that Simone and Naomi may one day be parents, like so many of us are, and face pressure and exhaustion of a different sort. Where there are no medals. No breaks. Think about it:

When you wiped blood off your face after an autism rage, did you get to take a break?
When you cleaned up shattered drywall and broken glass, did you get to take a break?
When the your son had his 6th seizure of the day, did you get to take a break?

  Holy, cow, the generation that demands we accept everyone, love everyone, let everyone choose everything about themselves, put mental health first, eradicate bullies, and sing Kumbaya before breakfast showed their colors on a New York Times Facebook post about the Men's Swimming Relay win. One swimmer with his back to the camera had cupping marks on his back. As soon as I saw the large circles I said, "Oh! He uses cupping, that's cool!"  It turns out that many swimmers use cupping as part of their training regimen, including Michael Phelps when he was competing. I do not use cupping unless you count a Farberware percolator pot full of coffee every day. But I know what it is. And I know for some people, it's part of their health maintenance.  I ACCEPT that.  I too am someone who wants to love everyone, let everyone choose everything about and for themselves, put mental and physical health first, eradicate bullies. I draw the line at singing Kumbaya before breakfast because I was never a fan of the 70s "Folk Mass," in Church.

Then.....  I read the comments. 

When you want to cheer the US team, but the swimmer marred by worthless cupping treatments makes you cringe instead.
How horrible that this guy believes in the woo of "cupping," the bruising on his back.
Great, more athletes promoting that “cupping” BS. Hickies don’t make you swim faster!!
Cupping. How useless.
Cupping is still a thing? That’s too bad.

I can't take anyone seriously when this level of dismissiveness for personal choice is condoned. Athletes have used natural healthcare and diet forever to add any edge to their training. Looking at you Tom Brady. If he had come out in a women's swimsuit, he'd have been cheered not jeered. Come on, folks. Take a hard look at what is happening.

"Someone's crying Lord..."  Me.

Last, week, the Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece by Joseph A. Ladapo and Harvey A. Risch. It was a breath of fresh air in this stale, overtly political summer.  I spent some time on Twitter yesterday, and I seriously needed a shower afterward. The anger. The vitriole. The pitchforks and torches raised high to bludgeon and burn the unvaccinated was astounding. Even from people who should know better from bitter experience with their own children (read into that what you will.) Choice? Never! Rational thought! No way! Risk analysis? You are a traitor to America! You are a moron. You are a DANGER. Patriotism as a concept has been rode hard and put away wet. From Bluegressives I see this anger. From Redservatives I see less name calling and outrage, but pure dismissiveness of those who genuinely are concerned for their health.  I no longer say Republican or Democrat, because I think both parties have been eviscerated, splintered, co-opted and shattered by extremes.  Folks are digging in their heels against one another. Watch the Olympics - I noticed that many of the stories of the athletes mentioned their mental health difficulties. One athlete has  had such bad OCD since age 12  that she had to take one hour showers.  An ad mentioned "respecting athlete's mental health," which is a fine thing and yes we should. But that's an ad benefit for a product?  What about respecting the huge anxiety many of of us who have lived vaccine injury suffer every day? Lordy, no, we do not count. The Covid vaccines carry risk.  Covid carries risk. Are we so stupid now that we can not make decisions for ourselves?  A whole lot of this nation thinks the answer is "YES!" Freedom means not having to make personal decisions, just do what you're forced or told. I don't get it.

So I really was surprised that the authors asked a simple question.  Are Covid Vaccines Riskier Than Advertised? There are concerning trends on blood clots and low platelets, not that the authorities will tell you.

By Cathy Jameson

We had a very busy week last week.  Busy is good!  But it means I didn’t have a chance to sit down and type the piece I had intended to type.  Instead of something fresh for you today, I’m posting an old story I shared with family and friends.  

We parents have had to be very creative with our kids – their schooling, their therapies, and their special diets.  This story is about a time I tried to make something healthy.  You’ll be so glad your device doesn’t come with smell-o-scope while reading this.

Enjoy!

--

I woke up a little past 7 o’clock this morning and got a whiff of something rancid.  Ohmyword.  The smell.  Ronan was still asleep when I sniffed what I sniffed, but I immediately thought, Oh, no.  Ronan must have pooped sometime in the middle of the night.  Poor kid.  I’ll have to wake him up to change his diaper.  I walked into Ronan’s room, and the smell disappeared.  That was good.  But that meant that the source of the stink was coming from somewhere else. 

After changing Ronan, I walked toward the kitchen.  The smell permeated through that room and into our den.  Was it the garbage can?  No, but I took the garbage out anyway.  Strange.  The garage smelled awful, too.  My gosh!  What is that smell? 

I walked back into the house and called my husband, “Hey, I think something died in the garage.  Call me back when you get a chance.”As I walked toward the kitchen, my oldest came around the corner.  “Mom!  You left the stove on…all night?!”  I nodded and said, “Honey, it’s bone broth.  You’re supposed to cook it for hours and hours and hours.”

I repeated that first sentence in my head:  …it’s bone broth…

On July 20, Bill O’Reilly and his No Spin News  on the First News Channel covered issues surrounding the COVID19 vaccine. (11:18) O’Reilly has been a steadfast supporter of this vaccine. He got his and his children have theirs. He has no doubt that this is an effective vaccine against COVID, with little chance of side effects. He trusts the assurances from the CDC. Everyone should get vaccinated to stop the spread, according to him.

O’Reilly is also a firm believer in personal choice when it comes to getting vaccine.

What was interesting to me were his comments on “anti-vaxxers” and how they’re censored by almost all the mainstream media. He even brought up Robert Kennedy, Jr. and his new book  (which he didn’t name, but we will: The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health). He said no network will cover this.

Here is the audio from the show:

O’Reilly: (20:40)  …I  believe that the data that is being reported is accurate, not a hundred percent accurate, but mostly.  That’s what you have to base life decisions on.

An offshoot of this and a very interesting offshoot is that on the Fox News Channel—remember the liberal  media will  not tolerate any media anti-vax stuff.

You won’t hear it, and if they somehow get a hold of it, they’ll demonize the person.

Robert Kennedy, Jr, a Democrat liberal, wrote a book, it’s out now, that the vaccinations are bad.

He’s an anti-vax guy; always has been.

Kennedy is a fairly big name; he can’t get on any of these shows. You can’t hear his point of view.

You can read the book, they’re carrying the book. It’s on Amazon. Saw it the other day.

By Anne Dachel

We all know the story about Andrew Wakefield. He’s the British doctor who, we’ve been endlessly told, falsely linked the MMR vaccine to the development of autism in children over 20 years ago.

That’s the message out there universally regarding the safety of the ever-expanding childhood vaccination schedule.

Wakefield was made the fall guy. Discredit him and the controversy is put to rest. We can all relax.

The massive worldwide push for taking the COVID19 vaccine has met with all kinds of resistance. Once again there needs to be someone to blame for the skepticism, someone whose claims can be debunked.

That person seems to be Robert Kennedy, Jr.

The prominent Kennedy name gets notice, so he can’t just be ignored. The media has to attack him for spreading “vaccine misinformation” in order to quiet growing fears over vaccine mandates.

Just like with Wakefield, experts and officials are lined up to show how wrong Kennedy is. In Kennedy’s case, even family members publicly discredit his views on vaccines.

I was amazed at how much coverage Kennedy’s been getting. I can easily predict that these same sources WILL NOT be talking about his upcoming book, The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health.

Attacking the messenger:

July 22, 2021, NBC Today:  How vaccine misinformation spreads on social media

I know, it's only rock and roll, but I like it, like it, yes I do.

Huge thanks to Eric Clapton for standing up for what rock and roll is all about. FREEDOM. Why? Because he experienced the fear, worry and danger of vaccine injury himself.

He is putting his money where his microphone is, and refusing to play in venues that discriminate based on Covid vaccine status. Unlike Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters, who sold their fans down the pharma river.

Eric Clapton Will Not Play Shows Where Proof of Vaccine Is Required

Eric Clapton said he will not perform at any venues that require attendees to prove that they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Clapton issued his statement in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday, July 19th, that vaccine passes would be required to enter nightclubs and venues. Clapton’s statement was shared via the Telegram account of film producer and architect Robin Monotti, who has also been skeptical of the Covid-19 vaccine and expressed other doubts about the U.K. government’s response to the pandemic. (Clapton previously shared a message about his “disastrous” health experience after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine on Monotti’s Telegram page.)

This ad for a probiotic was on my Facebook feed yesterday. Take a look at the verbiage describing the product:

It's NOT a "cure" for autism.

I responded politely but firmly from within the autism is treatable universe.

Can you think of ANY other serious medical diagnosis for which "cure" is verboten? I was unable to do so until COVID came to town and said, "thanks for greasing the wheel, autism, we'll take it from here."  Think about it. We are NOT able to ask where did COVID come from or we'll be branded as racist. We are NOT able to ask about who might have known about COVID and hushed it up or we'll be branded as Q-spiracy theorists. We are NOT able to talk about how to cure COVID with cheap, over the counter and decades long established medical interventions. There is only pandemic lockdown, masks and vaccinations, the approved topics of discussion. Kind of like educational, behavioral and genetics for autism.

Agree?

Source BuzzFeed News

Set your Jabberwocky meter to stun. Remember kids, when celebrities share their personal experience with vaccine injury and vaccination choice, they are stupid sluts (if female) and stupid dunderheads (if male.) 

Newsweek, December, 2020:  The list includes Jenny, Jim, Jessica, Kat, Rob, Toni, Kristin, Alicia, and others, but is HARDLY a compendium of "every" celebrity. How shoddy.  Every Celebrity to Speak Out Against Vaccines

Last week, President Biden trotted out 18 year old Olivia Rodrigo to make Tik Tok videos encouraging young, healthy Americans to get the Covid vaccine.  She wants you happy, healthy, and vaccinated. (Teen Vogue.) Newsweek July, 2021. Olivia Rodrigo and These Other Stars Are Urging People to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

If you're thinking this is a political post on our part at AofA - think again. Propaganda is a useful tool on both sides of the aisle - What do Billy Ray Cyrus, Dwyane Wade, and Dr. Oz have in common? Practically nothing, especially not their politics. Yet they found themselves on a list of ten celebrities approved by the Trump White House for a planned COVID-19 ad campaign to “defeat despair and inspire hope.”

Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.  Women were "sold" the idea of joining the workforce during WWII using government created propaganda:

To mobilize these women, all of the government propaganda needed to communicate a central theme...it concentrated on personal patriotism and emotional appeals. The patriotic appeal had two aspects, the positive "do your part" approach and the negative "a soldier may die if you don't do your part" warning. The campaign slogan "The More Women at Work-The Sooner We'll Win" promised women that their contributions could bring their men home sooner. (Rupp 1978, 156).  The Office of War Information was responsible for "selling" the war to women. It sent monthly guides to magazine and newspaper editors and radio commentators, suggesting approaches to war topics. The OWI also allocated air time and print space, so that the media would stress the same themes at the same time. It distributed films and maintained a close relationship with the War Advertising Council. The agency launched campaigns and urged magazines to cover working women in their articles (Berkin and Norton 1979, 344).

I saw a Tweet yesterday from a doctor who was complaining about how poorly she felt after treating people with COVID. After I wiped a tear from my eye, I thought about what she was really saying, and then looked her up.  Dr. Claudia William is the founder of La Vie MD, a CONCIERGE medical practice in Florida that also sells upscale clothing, home decor, lifestyle thingies and more.  Concierge is a fancy term for CASH ONLY, FEE FOR SERVICE, NO INSURANCE, and is often a choice for wealthy, older patients for whom Medicare is a hassle. Dr. William happens to be in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Williams indicates she has a breakthrough infection, hours after treating more than 60 patients with COVID.

Why Pay a $35-75 co-pay at an urgent care, & wait over an 1 hour to be seen for 10 minutes?

At La Vie MD pay $125 with no wait times & see the SAME doctor every time for an hour, in person or online.

At La Vie MD We Are All About Easy, Fast & Convenient Care

If she saw 60+ patients at her practice, she made at least $7,500 based on the $125 appointment fee. Not sure how she could see that many patients in 2 days, but we’ll take her word for it. That should buy her a fair amount of tissues, but it won't buy her empathy for her cash carrying patients, or understanding that the vaccine SHE TOOK for Covid is a FAILURE. By her photos, she’s part of the TikTok Prom King and Queen era of medicine, where looks sell. 

By Anne Dachel

Every once in a while it is my great pleasure to talk about a book on autism that is really well-designed to inform and help parents and other people involved with autism. Autism Essentials, as the cover tells us, is about “prevention, causes, remediation, education, vocation, and legal aspects and parental advice” regarding autism.

Autism Essentials is a collection of articles by over 30 writers, edited by Dr. Andy McCabe, a psychologist who has worked for years in special education and who has an extensive background in autism.

This book has so much good information on the real world of autism that I hardly know where to begin. A number of the writers are people I’ve known and respected for years and others who are new to me. All of them have something vital to say about autism.

Since the topics are so varied, I decided to review this book in several separate pieces. Here goes the first.

I like to say my qualifications for any of the writing I do is that I read. I have spent twenty years studying everything about autism. That’s not to say I know everything there is out there, but I’ve amassed a good deal of knowledge. I’ve been writing for Age of Autism since 2007, mostly about the controversy over vaccines and autism and the exponential increases in the rate.

I wrote a book about all this published in 2014 called, The Big Autism Cover-Up-How and Why the Media is Lying to the American Public.

As you can tell from title, it covered the lies and corruption surrounding the link between autism and vaccines.

In that book I devoted a whole chapter to the Dr. Andrew Wakefield story because of his leading role in the whole debate over a vaccine link.

I felt honored that Dr. McCabe asked me to write the preface in Autism Essentials, focusing on the Andy Wakefield story—the real story about this doctor.

The preface, entitled, Dr. Andy Wakefield: The Story You Haven’t Heard, is where I say once again what I said about Dr. Wakefield in The Big Autism Cover-Up, namely that he was made the fall guy to cover up the collusion and corruption on the part of the British government.

Don’t get the idea that Autism Essentials is just about how vaccines can cause autism, because it isn’t. The link is clearly talked about because there are just too many parents out there who watched their normally developing children lose learned skills and regress into autism following routine childhood vaccinations.

So what is the real story about Dr. Wakefield?

Congratulations to authors Mark Blaxill (Age of Autism Editor-At-Large), Toby Rogers and Cynthia Nevison.

Blaxill, M., Rogers, T. & Nevison, C. Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States. J Autism Dev Disord (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05120-7

Abstract

The cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies. Read here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05120-7

The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders is the leading peer-reviewed, scholarly periodical focusing on all aspects of autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities.

By Cathy Jameson

When I’m bored, I pop over to Yahoo! to see what news has been posted.  I know it isn’t the best place to get accurate or unbiased reports, but I skim through the page anyway.  Most of the article titles lately sound like what I used to see in The Enquirer.  When I was a kid, The Enquirer was known to be more of a gossip rag than an actual newspaper.  Even so, I loved seeing it at the grocery store.  While Mom was getting our food on the conveyor belt I’d peek at the wild headlines. 

Man, they were wild! 

Headlines are meant to grab readers’ attention.  One certainly grabbed my attention on the Yahoo! main page last week:  How To Deal With Friends Who Won’t Get Vaccinated

I know what I need to do for myself and for my family, so I feel absolutely no pressure when I read stuff like that.  I clicked the link, though, to see how others are “dealing with” this situation because curiosity got the best of me. 

As I read the very short article, I quickly found two statements that were false:

- Unvaccinated individuals are at a greater risk for contraction [of COVID19] than vaccinated ones.

- Their reasoning [to not get the vaccine] tends to be rooted in emotions rather than science.

A recent news report from the BBC proves that vaccinated individuals can contract the illness, and data being collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows that adults are researching vaccine science before making a decision.  Their reasons for declining include valid concerns not just about side effects but also because of the newness of the vaccine.  Other reasons for saying no are that some just don’t want the vaccine.  Some don’t trust the government, and some think they do not need the vaccine.  All those important reasons aside, I did agree with this part of that article when the author shared that:

-Your social boundaries must be respected

Yes!  This!  All day long! 

…you can ask that they [the unvaccinated] respect your boundaries, just as you are respecting theirs by not pressuring them to get vaccinated.

Yes again! 

Please, if there’s anything this short article can impart, let this be the takeaway – don’t pressure anyone to get a vaccine they don’t want or need. 

Most people I know who have not opted for a COVID shot by now aren’t going to get one.  You can bully them, bribe them, jeopardize their rights, or call them every awful name under the sun.  They are still not going to get the shot.  It’s not because they’re not hesitant about it (definition of hesitant from Oxford Language: tentative, unsure, or slow in acting or speaking).  It’s because they flat out do not want it. 

Their reasons to decline the COVID19 shots are not based on emotions, as the article suggested, but could be based on a current medical condition.  It may be because of a previous vaccine experience, either theirs or of someone close to them.  Sure, emotions can come into play as they consider the pros and cons, but emotions are not the driving force.  They’ve thought this through, like those who were surveyed by KFF, and are not going to be swayed.  Several of the commenters responding to that Yahoo! article seemed to agree on that.  They were vocal about one more thing – if you got the vaccine, why are you worried that others have not?  Does that mean that you, the vaccinated, don’t truly believe that they work?  

That does seem to be the $64,000 question. 

When I first saw the short article last week, I laughed.  Not in a mean way, but I laughed because the push to get everyone vaccinated is everywhere, even in the Lifestyle section of an online newspaper.  Before I read it, I did stop and wonder if the article would stoop so low as to call the unvaccinated names.  They didn’t, thankfully, but others have threatened them or are rebuking them. Some in office have also offered false information in their quest to vaccinate all. 

By Anne Dachel

Back in 2007 I wrote a piece called,Autism: An Epidemic of Fairly Recent Origin

It was all about the explosion in autism from a relatively rare condition to one affecting one in every 150 (2007).  

One of my sources for that story was a 2007 piece from the Boston Globe, With Rise in Autism, Programs Strained.

Globe reporter Carey Goldberg wrote about parents having to wait nine months for an autism diagnosis and as long as five years to get their child into a special school.

Goldberg wrote, “Statewide, the number of schoolchildren diagnosed with autism has nearly doubled over the last five years, from 4,080 to 7,521, according to soon-to-be-published data from the Department of Education.”

Clearly the autism phenomenon was putting huge pressures on the education system and services.

When she wrote the story in 2007, Goldberg did not explain why these numbers were jumping off the page. This seemed odd since anyone reading her autism statistics would logically want to know why this was happening.

Fourteen years ago I used to politely write to reporters when I saw stories like this and ask those logical questions. I’m sure I wrote to Goldberg and most likely she didn’t respond, since reporters covering autism rarely show any real interest.

Now a recent Boston Gobe story on autism has my attention.

On July 16, 2021, Kara Baskin wrote the Globe piece, What happens to autistic children once they become adults?

In the story she interviewed autism parent Cammie McGovern about her soon-to-be-released book “Hard Landings: Looking into the Future for a Child With Autism.”

Foo Fighters postponed tour dates after a member of their team contracted Covid. They made the news several weeks ago when they announced their “Vaxxed Only” tour starting at Madison Square Garden, in New York.

Comments at Twitter are brutal and remind me of Palm Sunday: "Crucify him! Crucify him!" as the assumption is this MUST be an unvaccinated person. 

We hope the person recovers quickly, whether vaccinated or not. We're human that way.

From CNN:

Foo Fighters postpone concert after confirmed Covid-19 case

Weeks after the Foo Fighters played the first capacity show at Madison Square Garden, they have announced they must postpone their Los Angeles concert due to a confirmed case of Covid-19 within their organization.

The band had been scheduled to play the Los Angeles Forum on Saturday.

On Wednesday, they announced via their verified Twitter account: "Despite having made every effort to follow CDC COVID protocols and local laws, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case within the Foo Fighters organization...

An interesting firing took place in Tennessee over parental consent and marketing vaccines directly to minors.  Whether you want the Covid vaccine for yourself or not, allowing children as young as 12 to make healthcare decisions for themselves without parental knowledge can be frightening to consider.  We can play devil's advocate. For instance,  if teens are going to be sexually active, obtaining birth control without parental consent could be seen as  verboten (to some) or common sense (to others) as teen pregnancy carries serious consequences.  But, birth control pills and implantable IUDs carry health risk. The risk of teen pregnancy for both the boy and the girl can be life changing. But what about Covid vaccination? Is the risk reward equation similar? Especially for a vaccine that is still in the experimental stages and has incomplete data on risk to children, including their future fertility and their cardiac status. Both scenarios depend on the parents' politics, upbringing, life experience, maybe religion and personal point of view. Troubling to me, is that I read that Dr. Fiscus was sent a muzzle anonymously in the mail. She perceived it as a threat to keep quiet - and who could blame her? But what if it was sent from someone telling her she should not be muzzled? Either way, it's intimidating  and I feel for her and her family, as she is likely worried about her safety. Just as many of us are worried about our kids' safety if vaccinated. And we know from muzzles. What a world.

This firing took place in Tennessee. You might recall that Nurse Tiffany Pontes-Dover was vaccinated for COVID on camera during a press event at her Chattanooga hospital back in December. Nurse Dover fainted on camera. Without getting into cloak and dagger territory, her formerly active social media Instagram account was ceased, and despite thousands of requests for proof she survived, there are questions as to whether she is alive or not. Has anyone asked Dr. Fiscus if she has been in contact with Nurse Dover, as a former senior vaccination official in the state?

###

NPR: She Says She Was Fired For Saying That Teens Don't Need Parental Consent For Vaccines

Tennessee's top vaccine official says she has been fired as punishment for doing her job in the face of political pushback.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus was caught up in a controversy after she passed along legal guidance to health providers saying teenagers do not need parents' consent to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot — a position established by decades of state law.

"Specifically, it was MY job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against COVID-19," Fiscus said in a scathing statement about her firing. "I have now been terminated for doing exactly that."

Tennessee's leaders have betrayed the public trust, Fiscus said, accusing them of putting their own political gains ahead of the people's well-being. She defended her colleagues in the health sector who have been fighting the pandemic — and she notably took umbrage that a lawmaker had called the state Department of Health's actions "reprehensible."

Fiscus said that "the 'leaders' of this state who have put their heads in the sand and denied the existence of COVID-19 or who thought they knew better than the scientists who have spent their lives working to prevent disease ... they are what is 'reprehensible.' I am ashamed of them. I am afraid for my state."

Because of the pushback from lawmakers, Fiscus said, Tennessee is halting all of its vaccination outreach efforts for teenagers and children – not only for COVID-19 but also for measles and other illnesses.

"A little bit of a dangerous trend." WHOSpeak for "We' have no idea the health and safety consequences, but we are not allowed to alarm anyone from continuing to get a dose, any dose, for God's sake please take your dose."

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization’s chief scientist on Monday advised against people mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous trend” since more data is needed about the health impact.

“It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here,” Soumya Swaminathan told an online briefing. “It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who will be taking a second, a third and a fourth dose.”

Swaminathan called mixing a “data-free zone” on Monday but the WHO clarified on Tuesday that some data was av

Bad, bad superbad combos

ailable and more was expected.

Its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on vaccines in June said the Pfizer vaccine could be used as a second dose after an  initial dose of AstraZeneca, if the latter is not available.

The results of a further clinical trial led by the University of Oxford that will look at mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer as well as Moderna and Novovax vaccines is underway.

“Data from mix and match studies of different vaccines are awaited - immunogenicity and safety both need to be evaluated,” the WHO said in emailed comments.

It should be public health agencies who make decisions, based on available data, and not individuals, the WHO added.

Reporting by Emma Farge and John Revill; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Raissa Kasolowsky

"Not A disease. Not a defect. Not a deficit. Different."   Thanks to our Anne Dachel for calling out this dingbat in Florida, a shrink named Morrier who sure isn't a worrier when it comes to autism. He seems to have no experience with or understanding of the PLIGHT of people with autism, and their families. Not a deficit? To be unable to speak? Care for yourself? Protect yourself? Autism itself is a word - a useless word. Some of the characteristics are indeed deficits. Take the word AUTISM and tell the shrinks they can have it, love it, wrap it in 24K gold tissue paper, and continue to make their FORTUNE prescribing seriously dangerous drugs for it. I know a local Mom who has worked so darn hard for her son - and yet his rages just keep escalating and he is a HUGE young man.  The psych answer?  THORAZINE. THOR A ZINE.  Dr. Morrier, step aside, you are an impediment.  Rant over. With apologies to Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine.

By Anne Dachel

I recently found a pointless piece about autism in the Fort Myers Florida Weekly. The title was a misnomer, Understanding Autism.

By the end, the reader doesn’t really understand what autism is. The real message is: There’s nothing wrong with being autistic, get used to it.

It featured Michael Morrier, a psychiatrist at Emory University in Atlanta and Diane Adreon, who has a doctorate in special education and works at Miami-Nova Southeastern University.

This is a perfect example of autism busy work: AUTISM IS STILL A MYSTERY, BUT NO ONE IS WORRIED. Educated people are looking into autism.

We were told that autism is like being left-handed, just a difference, not a defect/deficit,

Reporter Mary Wozniak had no really challenging questions for Dr. Morrier

In short, Morrier dismissed autism as a crisis. He was still unsure if more kids really have autism.  He gave us the history of autism back to the refrigerator mom theory of Bruno Bettelheim.

Morrier was not asked about regressive autism where healthy, normally developing children suddenly lose learned skills and sink into autism.

Morrier talked about a “genetic predisposition” and “some kind of environmental trigger,” but failed to cite even one of the possible triggers.

Morrier was “absolutely” sure there are just as many adults with autism out there; they’re just misdiagnosed.

Finally Morrier sang the praises of the neurodiversity movement and how we all just need to “work together to better the world for all of us.”

When you see it.....

Thank you to Alison Chapman in Massachusetts for sharing this opinion piece that ran in the Boston Globe. Surprising that they ran it, but I learned a saying decades ago, "Don't punish progress," and this opinion piece is important information that could help thousands of families whose kids face expulsion from school.

###

OPINION

COVID-19 vaccines illustrate the transformative power of vaccination to control infectious illness, and some schools have implemented mandates. In this context, the Massachusetts Legislature is considering two vaccination bills that would end or limit access to school, day care, or even college for the roughly 1 percent of Massachusetts children or young adults using a religious exemption. One of the bills would also allow vaccination of children without parental consent or knowledge — irrespective of age or capacity—and would also limit medical exemptions. While broad vaccine coverage is important to control infectious illness, it is imperative that citizens appreciate the destructive consequences of these bills.

With the highest vaccination rates in the country, Massachusetts is largely protected from disease outbreaks. Over the past decade, vaccination rates have improved and the religious exemption, used most often to forgo one or two vaccines, has held steady at roughly 1 percent. Simply put, there is no vaccination problem in Massachusetts. Excluding children from school risks creating larger, more serious, public health problems.

By Cathy Jameson

One morning a little over a month ago, I was catching up on some posts in an online group.  While sipping my coffee, I scrolled to the newest message.  The commenter said that people who choose not to vaccinate should “thank the rest of us for taking public health seriously."  All of us "…should do our part to bring normal back to everyone."  Not finished with all that she had to say, the poster shared that she’d gotten the vaccine.  Wanting some sort of recognition for that, she continued more curtly, "You're welcome, unvaccinated folks."  

This woman stayed on her soapbox a little bit longer and requested that the unvaccinated stop spreading misinformation.  I was unsure why she asked that because previous comments left by others included vaccine data directly from government agencies that oversee the vaccine program.  Maybe she didn’t like that some of that data was of documented vaccine injuries.  Far from done replying to the very polite responses people were leaving her, regardless of where their data was being cited, she had one more thing to say.  She insisted that, “The vaccine is helping you.  How?  Whether it's in your arm or not, the vaccine is the public good working for everyone."

What a message to wake up to!  

I wanted to reply, and had I known the people in this group a little bit better, I would have.  But I chose not to.  I’ve been replying to that kind of irrational, hateful speech for years.  This woman, who I’ve yet to meet in person, worked herself up into a tizzy and by the time I caught up, she didn’t need my input.  Plus, others had already graciously chimed in.  Other parents had responded to the indignant comments and requests before I even had a chance to even open the thread.  Who were those other people?  Several of them had previously stated that they were pro-vaccine.  They were just not pro-vaccine for one of the COVID vaccines, which was the topic of that particular thread.

“I am vaccinated, but I will not get the new one.  I won’t allow my children to get it either,” several shared.  I appreciated that I wasn’t the only one who had the same thought.  I walk into some message boards thinking I’m the lone “anti-vaxxer”.  On this particular board, there were quite a few of us.  And, dang, did they let this woman have it.

“Thank you?  For you getting the shot?  I didn’t ask you to do that.  You did that on your own.” 

“Nothing about this vaccine is normal.”

“If this was really about public health, we wouldn’t be forced into experimental shots.”

“Do my part?  I am, by not falling for the hype.”

For not being in the “anti-vaxxer” movement for as long as I have been, the responses I was reading were pretty good.  I sat back and read some more.

Note: So happy to share this post from Jennifer Rose, author of It's Not a Perfect World, But I'll take it.

By Jennifer Rose

Growing up autistic wasn’t always easy for me. Not only did my disability make it rather difficult for me to make friends, but there weren’t a lot of girls “like me” at my old school. So my mother, god bless her, often took me to see other special needs families, with varying degrees of success. However, one friendship that stands out from all the rest is my friendship with Olivia.

Now, Olivia is significantly more disabled than I am, or even my younger sister- the contrast between the two of us is incredibly significant. It’s much easier for me to go out and make friends than it is for McKenna to. And yet, whenever we meet up, it’s like a beautiful bond has connected between us.

We’ve known each other literally since grade school. She was one of the first families Mom had encountered during her autism journey, and she was known as something of a “cool mom.” She and Olivia would always have very stylish clothes when they went out, and Olivia became known around Morristown, New Jersey for her singing with her therapist Jammin Jenn. We became even closer when she moved to my elementary school for a while, as we got to see each other more often. Likewise, her mom and my mom had a fantastic bond created by similar circumstances.

Several years ago, my mother had plans to go out with her mom to go out for pizza. She asked me if I wanted to come, and I was ambivalent at first. Not that I didn’t like seeing them, but I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be interested. Eventually, I figured “Ah, what the hell, it would be nice to get out of the house”- I was bored at home and often spent my time watching movies or playing video games- so I agreed to her offer. And also, who passes up on a nice warm slice of pizza?

When we met up at the restaurant, her mom was there to happily greet us.

“Oh, hi!” my mom told her mom. “We haven’t seen each other in ages!”

Olivia didn’t talk much, but I knew that, deep down, she appreciated me and my company

“I know, right?” said her mom. “I’m so glad to see you! You know, Olivia went to a party at her school, and a group of boys approached her, and offered her to dance!”

“Oh wow, Olivia!” I said in a delightful tone of voice. “That’s amazing!”

Eventually, the chatter spilled out into the typical chatter of special needs mothers.

“It seems as though we “need” an Autism Awareness Month, or we wouldn’t know that autism exists!” said Mom.

“What do you think about that?” I asked her.

“I honestly don’t think it’s doing much for the cause,” said Mom.

“Yeah, the other “awareness” months tend to be more effectual, like Lyme Disease Awareness Month” I said.

“Soon, everyone’s going to be autistic,” said Mom. “I mean, Asperger’s no longer exists!”

Thank you to Safeminds for updating the community with new science. Science is rarely settled.

New Study Contradicts Last Month’s Study Showing an Association

Citing that research on in utero exposure to maternal environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or active maternal smoking and the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been inconsistent, researchers from the California Department of Public Health set out to examine in utero cotinine concentrations as a tobacco exposure measurement. The results of their new study was recently published in Autism Research, the official journal of the International Society of Autism Research (INSAR). In order to conduct this research, the study’s authors measured cotinine levels in blood samples of women in their second trimesters.  A total of 498 ASD cases and 499 controls born in California during 2011-2012 were accessed for this investigation. The research team also obtained self-reported maternal cigarette smoking habits during and immediately prior to pregnancy as well as other pertinent information from birth records.  After running the data on the mother’s cotinine concentrations, the researchers found no association between in utero exposure to tobacco smoke from maternal ETS exposure or from active smoking and ASD. This finding contradicts a study from a few weeks ago which reported that heavy smoking during pregnancy was linked to autism in offspring. Last month’s study came to their conclusion by connecting California birth records to cases of autism maintained by the California Department of Developmental Services. However, this new study is the first to measure cotinine in mother’s blood during pregnancy and then study the chemical’s association with the development of autism in offspring. The March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to fighting for the health of all pregnant mothers and babies, produces a list of dozens of health risks for infants born to mothers who smoke. Interestingly, autism is not included on their list which reinforces the conclusion of this new study and also adds more evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy is not fueling the autism epidemic.

Study Abstract

By Dr. William H. Gaunt, NMD

The Covid-19 vaccines have considerably more negative effects than most people realize. The question is how frequent and how bad are they? VAERS stands for Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. A 2011 report by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that less than 1% of all vaccine adverse events are reported to the government through VAERS. Think about that. This is an important factor: Only a tiny fraction of vaccine deaths and injuries get reported to the government by this system.

Another interesting bit of recent news: OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has given employers a break by saying that they don’t have to report Covid-19 vaccine adverse events if they simply “recommend” but don’t “require” these vaccines. This will result in even less reporting.

The Covid-19 vaccines began in December 2020. No vaccines have ever been more heavily promoted and they are being given free of charge for most people. Millions of people are getting them. The government is paying for these vaccines.

The VAERS data through June 25, 2021 showed 6,985 reports of deaths and 34,065 reports of serious injuries following Covid-19 vaccines. This includes 576 deaths of unborn babies. These reports come from the CDC but are not widely reported. We need to do some math to get an estimate of how many actual deaths and injuries have occurred.

Let’s first be very generous and assume that 5% of deaths and injuries caused by Covid-19 vaccines are being reported through VAERS. The math goes like this: 20 times 6,985 equals 139,700 deaths and 20 times 34,065 equals 681,300 injuries. This is almost certainly an underestimate.

Let’s try a more realistic estimate. If 2% of deaths and injuries are being reported through VAERS, the math goes like this: 50 times 6,985 equals 349,250 deaths and 50 times 34065 equals 1,703,250 injuries. These numbers seem impossible even to me but may be close to the actual carnage.

Why not? They bring everything else to your door. And now, prescription drugs. Can you imagine a patient telling her doctor, "No, not that pill, I want to get Amazon Prime."  And what about the safety of drivers who will now have drugs in the trucks? When word gets out, they will be at risk of violent crime. Especially the pills that make people.... SMILE.

This Tweet from President Biden scrolled down my Twitter today and I felt compelled to answer. Answer for real. Answer politely. Or rather, ask a question politely. I wasn't raised to be rude to the POTUS, elephant or donkey.

The President suggests that we need to totally revamp and rebuild our economy. And I asked, "How",  given the plight of the younger generation, including my 3 daughters. President Trump also had lofty goals that he called Making America Great Again. Both sides of the aisle have ignored the past and present health catastrophe facing babies, children, teens and young adults. Many years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that 50% of children had a chronic illness. Given the trend, that number is surely higher in 2021. And adults have not fared any better. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer of all sorts, mental health issues, obesity.

Politics aside, how the heck do we improve upon the “can do!” attitude of the post-War boom that was fueled by the Cold War? Post-Covid is producing weaker, less fit, more frightened, anxious, divided, hesitant, Americans who are afraid to think and act for themselves or listen to those on “the other side.”  Who is going to build this new economy?

Update: Facebook 30 day banned at least one person who posted this info yesterday.

BOSS not bush! I do it every time!! 

Levi Quackenboss  is known for his acerbic wit and sharp, educational blog posts. But below you'll see his softer side, as he takes the dump truck full of sugar approach to help a friend learn facts about the Covid vaccines and children. Parents don't get this information from their pediatricians, their news sources or most of their equally unaware friends.  We are so entrenched in the world of medical rights and vaccine injury and disability, that we often forget that the MAJORITY of those around us are not only brand new to the concepts, but have been actively educated to believe anything but what we share. There is a time to use lemon, and a time to use honey. And a hive full of facts. Levi is a Queen (King?) Bee for this work.

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Hi, friend. I noticed your post the other day-- the one about making sure your child wears a mask until they can be vaccinated this fall--when the Pfizer COVID vaccine will be awarded emergency authorization for use in kids under 12. You know my stance on this specific issue, and of course, I know yours, but I hope this note finds you open and willing to receive some information before you finalize that monumental decision for your child. 

Mainstream media haven't reported much on the children and young adults harmed by these vaccines, so I understand that their stories may not have made it onto your radar. I'd like to tell you about a couple of them.

The first is a 12-year-old girl named Maddie de Garay. Maddie's parents allowed her and her two brothers to enroll in the Pfizer trial where 1,100 kids aged 12-15 received the real Pfizer COVID vaccine. One brother received a saline placebo. The other received the real vaccine and quickly became infected with a severe case of COVID, serious enough to cause him to miss many weeks of school. But Maddie's experience was different. Her body lost the ability to digest food and she also lost the ability to walk. While this happened back on January 20, 2021, she still uses a wheelchair and still has a feeding tube today. Her medical team declared her new health status to be a mental issue and suggested she be committed to a psychiatric hospital. Pfizer did not stop their trial and has not publicized this child's injuries. You can watch Maddie's mother, an engineer, testify at a US Senator's press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp_zNSEW1wc&t=355s

The next child is Jacob Clynick. Jacob was 13 years old when he received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on June 13, 2021. He died three days later of an enlarged heart and myocarditis, which is inflammation of the inner heart wall. The CDC says it's "investigating" Jacob's death. You can read about Jacob here: https://www.rt.com/usa/527177-twitter-vaccine-boy-died-heart/

You might notice that we have some changes in the near future, starting with updating our email feed.  Of course, I hit a tech glitch - they DENIED us the ability to transfer, and I sure am hoping it's nothing.... personal. If you know what I mean.  You might not get us in your inbox for a while.

I'll keep you posted as I continue to try to keep the light shining.  Thanks. KIM

Below is an excerpt and link to an interview with Dr. Bret Weinstein by Jan Jekielek.  The world has been enrolled in a clinical trial - for the first time - en masse. Without any of the controls required of a clinical trial. How has this become the "Patriotic" thing to do here in the USA, and across the globe?

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Bret Weinstein: ‘Perverse Incentives’ in the Vaccine Rollout and the Censorship of Science

“We are exposing a huge fraction of the population to what is in effect a scientific experiment, except that it isn’t a scientific experiment because we are deliberately avoiding collecting data that would allow us to evaluate the impact,” says Dr. Bret Weinstein, an evolutionary biologist and co-host of the DarkHorse podcast.

In this deep-dive with Dr. Weinstein, we discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety, the efficacy of repurposed drugs, the Wuhan lab leak theory, and this new age of censorship. What scientific data and information is currently being denied to the public?

Below is a rush transcript of this American Thought Leaders episode from July 3, 2021. This transcript may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Jan Jekielek: Bret Weinstein, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders.

Dr. Bret Weinstein: Thanks for having me.

We're taking our very first Summer break.

Enjoy the long weekend. We'll be back on Tuesday, July 6!

Register now for Webinar and Q&A Session Regarding the main brief CHD filed in its case against the OTARD rule allowing base station antennas on homes. 

What is the OTARD Rule? Read here

When: Wednesday, June 30, 2:30 pm ET, 11:30 am PT. REGISTER NOW. 

We will explain the various arguments that we raised in the brief to simplify them for non-attorneys among us. We recommend you read the brief before the webinar. 

We will be joined also by the attorneys who are submitting an Amicus Brief in the case on behalf of many dozens of US safe tech organizations. We will have a 30 minutes public Q&A session.

Speakers: Attorneys Dafna Tachover, CHD Director of 5G and Wireless Harms Project; Scott McCollough, CHD lead attorney in the OTARD case; Petra Brokken from Minnesota Safe Technology; Stephen Díaz Gavin, attorney for the Amicus. 

For those readers whose kids are still in school, are you starting extended school year services this week?  We have a one month program, five days per week from 8:45 - 1:34pm.   Services are 50% of what is offered during the school year.  Our public school program is 4 days per week. My daughter and I prefer 5! What do you have? If anything? And what would you prefer?

Note: When I turned on The Howard Stern Show at about 7:30 yesterday morning, he began his non-stop fear of Covid, and love for the vaccinations the moment I tuned in. Imagine my surprise when he began talking about the V Is For Vaccine protest outside the Springsteen on Broadway - which was for vaccinated only.  He hates the unvaccinated and fears Covid with all his heart and soul and OCD. He used to turn his cruelty into comedy. I was so annoyed, I snapped a screen shot.

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Protest Against Segregation at Bruce Springsteen Concert for  "Vaccinated Only" Attendees

New York, NY - On June 26, 2021 the largest public vaccine risk education organization, V is for Vaccine, protested what they are calling discrimination and modern segregation outside the first show of the new Bruce Springsteen concert series at the St. James Theater. Springsteen's shows are open to "vaccinated only", allowing only attendees who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Concert goers were required to show proof of vaccination for COVID-19 to enter the venue.

The protest aimed to highlight how segregating vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals is a violation of civil and equal rights, with activists holding signs that replicated protest signs from the Civil Rights era. One such sign read "Segregation is morally wrong!"

Segregation is defined as the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people, or things being set apart. There and many reasons people do not vaccinate, including previous vaccine injury or medical or genetic predisposition to an adverse reaction.

Springsteen isn't the first performer to impose this requirement. Just last week V is for Vaccine also organized a protest at the The Foo Fighters concert on the west coast, which was the very first full capacity "vaccinated only" concert in the country.

V is for Vaccine co-founder Joshua Coleman stated, "Our goal is to point out how this medically and scientifically unjustified discrimination is setting a dangerous precedent. We are supposed to be in an age where we have moved past treating others unfairly based upon prejudices and unfounded fears. It seems in this case history is repeating itself."

As the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis post Covid vaccination, becomes more evident, I have a simple question for all of us with children who can not communicate their health status to us either accurately or at all. 

If your child with autism was experiencing a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart, would he or she have the ability to tell you? 

In my home, that answer is a resounding NO, NO, and NO.  Let's say that your child could communicate, or you were able to figure out the problem through your super duper autism parent intuition special secret life decoder skills.  Would your child tolerate any of the tests that would be run at the Emergency Room?

Worse that that, your doctor might not be to diagnose correctly! Classified as a rare disease, myocarditis is misdiagnosed by physicians and is the 3rd leading cause of sudden death in young people. Source: Myocarditis Foundation

Diagnosis of myocarditis is hard because it looks like so many other diseases. The diagnosis is made first by the history and a physical examination by a doctor. A physical exam may show a fast heart rate, abnormal blood pressure, and fast breathing rate, an abnormal examination of the heart and lungs, and sometimes an enlarged liver. Special tests such as an x-ray of the chest, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram may help with the diagnosis. Sometimes blood tests are obtained to help show the presence or cause of inflammation. Myocarditis can best be diagnosed by examining a small piece of heart muscle under a microscope. Samples of the heart muscle are taken with a bioptome, a thin, flexible tube with small cutting jaws at its tip. The bioptome is inserted through a vein in the patient's neck and positioned in the heart. Once the bioptome is in position, it withdraws very small heart muscle samples for analysis.

Source: Children's Hospital of Chicago

Last week, we had a student pass out in Karate class. He stumbled toward me as we were lining up, and collapsed in my arms. Thank God he came to quickly and was able to speak and focus.We hope it was due to dehydration snd heat. We don’t know.

The FDA released this information updating the fact sheets via a press release last week as reports continue to come in on the global experiment called Covid vaccination:

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Source: FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continued to take action in the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

Today, the FDA is announcing revisions to the patient and provider fact sheets for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines regarding the suggested increased risks of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart) following vaccination. For each vaccine, the Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) has been revised to include a warning about myocarditis and pericarditis and the Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers has been revised to include information about myocarditis and pericarditis. This update follows an extensive review of information and the discussion by CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Wednesday. The data presented at this meeting reinforced the FDA’s decision to revise the fact sheets and further informed the specific revisions. The warning in the Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccines notes that reports of adverse events suggest increased risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, particularly following the second dose and with onset of symptoms within a few days after vaccination. Additionally, the Fact Sheets for Recipients and Caregivers for these vaccines note that vaccine recipients should seek medical attention right away if they have chest pain, shortness of breath, or feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart after vaccination. The FDA and CDC are monitoring the reports, collecting more information, and will follow-up to assess longer-term outcomes over several months.

By Cathy Jameson

When they rolled out earlier this year, my college-aged daughter shared that she was not interested in getting the COVID shot.  Growing up watching her younger brother suffer through a vaccine injury, she knows that health doesn’t come in the form of a jab.  I wish others her age had the knowledge she naturally gained when her brother fell ill.  I’m grateful they were spared watching a sibling suffer, but past personal experience certainly does help shape future medical decisions.  

I hadn’t worried that Ronan’s big sister would opt for the experimental injectable until a little over 2 weeks ago.  That’s when her college announced their return-to-campus plans.  The vaccine hadn’t been required, per previous parent reports, up to and well past the college’s May 1^st acceptance day date.  But getting that experimental vaccine is now part of a new protocol to keep the campus “safe” and fully in-person. 

For many, that decision was perceived as a huge relief.  Finally!  We can go back to normal! some parents shared on the school’s family page online.  Good, everyone should be vaccinated, was another type of response offered.  Others, like myself, were not quickly celebrating this rash, so it seemed, decision.  Incredibly disappointed, I added a comment stating my frustration. 

Later, finding each other off the family page, other parents and I banded together to discuss this unexpected change. 

A Bit of a Back Story

Several restrictions were put into place when news of the coronavirus hit last year, but campus never completely shut down during the 2020-2021 school year.  Classes were still held, and grades were still being recorded.  Only a few colleges, I believe, could boast that. 

During both semesters last year, COVID spread through the student population at my daughter’s school as it did through many other schools.  Since it is a virus, that was to be expected.  Like other places, the school had procedures set up to minimize the spread and to care for students who contracted it.  Providing separate housing for the duration of the illness, including for my daughter, the few outbreaks that did occur were handled quickly and, we thought, well. 

Thinking the worst behind her, we expected that the upcoming school year would start a little less rocky. 

Oh, how wrong we were.

Papers Please!

The new requirement for the Fall includes getting one of the experimental COVID vaccines or asking for an exemption to be granted.  If the exemption is approved, it will be noticeable who is and who isn’t vaccinated as masks must be worn by the unvaccinated.  Basing fear over facts, those students, and faculty and staff who also decline one of the 3 EUAs, will be treated as 2^nd class citizens.  They, and only they, will face COVID-related restrictions, some that are no longer being practiced in the surrounding local communities.

That's my oldest daughter. She has worn a magenta top and blue jeans during the day for as long as I can remember. At least a decade. It's her choice. And she gets to make some decisions for herself -- like any adult. Until yesterday, when I "helped" her.

Kim: Here are jeans, choose the pair you want today.  Here are socks! Choose the pair you want today. Here are your cool NEW white sneakers! (Also a huge departure and leap forward from black Uggs.) And look! A beautiful pink tie dye shirt!"

Miss M: No. Small shirt.  (That means her usual short sleeve Hanes magenta T shirt.)

Kim: How about big shirt? (That means a sweatshirt, and always solid dark pink.)

Miss M: NO! Small shirt.

Kim starts singing Sesame Street theme song as distraction, changes words "....come and play wearing a new tie dye shirt!"

Mia: NOOOO! Small shirt.

Kim:  OK, Miss M. Here's your small shirt. (She put it on.) Looks great. And here's the BIG SHIRT! (As I begin to pop it over her head.)

I held my breath. UP went her arms into the sleeves!  YESSSSSSS!!!!

Miss M wore the new pink shirt all day!

I'm proud of her.

Tie dye! My oh my!

Big shirt! Big milestone!