Thank You Senator Rand Paul and Governor Chris Christie
By Kent Heckenlively
Dear Senator Paul and Governor Christie:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the first step in starting a long overdue conversation about vaccines and the epidemic of chronic diseases in our children INCLUDING autism. I salute your bravery in speaking about what you have heard from your fellow citizens as leaders in a democracy are supposed to do.
Others will not applaud you. Indeed, you should be prepared for a firestorm that will amaze you. I hope the anger of these people will not cause you to back down from what you believe to be very reasonable positions to take. As somebody who is half-Sicilian on my mother's side, like Governor Christie is, I understand the fire and thirst for justice which animates the Jersey Boy. As somebody who shares many of Senator Paul's libertarian beliefs that each individual is the best judge of what they need, I think my fellow libertarian is up for the fight.
I've been reading the fine book, "Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence" by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Joseph Ellis and think it may have a few lessons for the both of you as you begin to venture down this road. When our Founding Fathers declared on July 4, 1776 that all men were created equal it was certainly the most radical statement ever uttered by those who would seek to form a government.
And yet implicit in that statement were many contradictions that we would spend centuries fighting over. Why did this right belong only to male landowners over the age of twenty-five? How did the mere owning of land change a man into somebody whose voice should be heard? And if all men were equal, what about women? Abigail Adams chided her husband, John Adams on this very issue in a very pointed exchange of letters which have since become famous. And if men and women were equal, what about the millions who labored in slavery, torn from their native land? What God decreed their lives should be spent in bondage?
Governor Christie argues for a "balanced approach" to vaccination, but this begs the question. The media screams from the rooftops of the benefits of vaccination, but other voices have said something very different. Christie seems to believe those voices have not been heard. And he is right. The real question is why have those in the media and government prevented those voices from being heard? It's not an oversight. It's part of a plan. And they will begin to scream even louder. You're going to need that Sicilian toughness.
Senator Paul says he is a "Big fan of vaccines, but they can cause mental disorders." For the life of me I'm trying to put together any combination of items in which I would say, "I'm a big fan of X, but it can cause mental disorders." I like the fact that Paul says he spaced out the vaccines for his kids and he takes special exception to the hepatitis B vaccine which is given on the first day of life. These are all good points to make, but why are you the first significant figures in American politics to say them?
I hope you will take my comments in the spirit of those Frederick Douglas made to Abraham Lincoln, for even as my views differ sharply from Senator Paul and Governor Christie, I believe we shall very quickly find ourselves all in the same foxhole.
I encourage you to start with something simple, like saying, the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act created a separate court with no required discovery of pharmaceutical companies or government agencies, and no precedent. And just for fun you might throw in the Hannah Poling case, or the other 83 CASES OF VACCINE INJURY which included AUTISM that the GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY CONCEDED.
Ask those who would challenge you why the only two separate court systems we allow in this country are for accused terrorists and vaccine-injured children.Kent Heckenlively is a Founding Contributing Editor to Age of Autism and co-author with Dr. Judy Mikovits of Plague: One Scientist's Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autism, and Other Diseases. Visit his website at Plague The Book. You can order the book HERE.
Well, here's something new from MedPage Today's Gupta Guide:
"Rubio and Jindal, on the other hand, came out in favor of mandatory vaccination right out of the gate. "Absolutely, all children in America should be vaccinated," said Rubio.
"I urge all parents to get their kids vaccinated .... Here in Louisiana, we actively encourage vaccinations and help low-income parents vaccinate their children," said Jindal in a statement."
"Pediatric neurosurgeon and potential Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, MD, used even stronger language in a statement to the website BuzzFeed suggesting that there be no vaccine exemptions for any reason…."
These others don't stand a chance in hell of getting my vote.
Posted by: Fan of Christie | February 05, 2015 at 12:29 PM
Fan of Christie- I was not insulted and I agree with you on Christie- I wasn't clear on why you were calling out my comment and saying I was "wrong about Christie" when I gave no indication about anything about his position and whether or not it was consistent. So I was not insulted, just confused as to why you were referencing MY comment as "wrong about Christie" when I was not!
Posted by: Kristine | February 05, 2015 at 12:06 PM
Thank you Congressman Burton. Checkout video on Anderson 360. The truth prevails!
Posted by: Hope | February 04, 2015 at 10:45 PM
amen to all that, Bob Moffitt
Posted by: 4Bobby | February 04, 2015 at 10:20 PM
Hillary has certainly taken her stand, seems she had 2 out of three correct with the "sky is blue, earth is round..."
The news media is just waiting for a few billion dollars worth of campaign commercials so we can have more of the same "big money only" presidential candidates.
Is there any news with Dr. Thompson? Does he still go to work at the CDC each and every day?
I would suppose there are 600 staffers following 100 measles cases.
Posted by: go Rand | February 04, 2015 at 08:31 PM
"The most potent way for Government to control the citizens (instead of being accountable to a country's citizenry) is to control their health care; this is Basic Principle 101 enunciated by Socialist/Communist/Leftist political teachings."
Completely agree.
This is why the video that Danchi originally pointed to (and then I re-posted) is so important to view and understand. This whole issue/argument now about vaccines is NOT solely about vaccines!
It's about our freedom to CHOOSE, but that message becomes entirely obscured with all the rhetoric about measles, etc. We have literally lost so many of our freedoms since 9/11; it's just a matter of time before they try to away more...
Ask the Pelletier family about freedom to make medical decisions for your own child(ren) or any other family that has had to deal with the absolute nightmare this family has had to go through. Their daughter was hospitalized yet again this past September and didn't go home until right around Christmas. She's still suffering with the after effects re what happened to her.
I hope people can see through the paper tiger here and understand what the big picture is. This is SO much more than about measles/vaccines...
Posted by: Bayareamom | February 04, 2015 at 08:24 PM
Kristine, the only point I was trying to make is that what Gov. Christie said was not just only a politically motivated comment. He didn't only just now, suddenly, out of the blue, make the comment about parental choice regarding vaccination. Christie has been saying this for at least a few years now, long before he made any decision to run as a presidential candidate.
My point, and I did not mean to insult you in any way (and I am sorry if I did), was that I believe Christie means what he says, at least on this one single issue, I think he truly does.
Posted by: Fan of Christie | February 04, 2015 at 06:51 PM
Hey Kristine, He also likes Bruce Springsteen. Big fan. Double bonus!
Posted by: Kathryn--Homeopath | February 04, 2015 at 06:10 PM
Fan of Christie-
Please explain to me where I am "wrong about Christie". I never said anything bad about him so I'm confused. I have always admired Christie for his courage- and not just on this issue. Plus he likes Notre Dame, so big bonus points there.
Posted by: Kristine | February 04, 2015 at 05:39 PM
It will be interesting to see if either of them goes very far in the Presidential Election, if they start back pedaling. Governor Christie seems a bit more independent, endorsing Obama in the last election and all, so I am hopeful.
The Hep A vaccine may be relevant if you are traveling abroad. They used to give Immune Globulin injections, but I think they use the vaccine now. Not sure you can even get the Immune Globulin injections anymore.
I'm glad that Rand Paul called out the Hep B vaccine. I wish he would do likewise with Gardasil.
Posted by: Kathryn--Homeopath | February 04, 2015 at 05:36 PM
Paul and Christie are hardly paragons of change. They're just pandering to their base. I'll give them credit for at least acknowledging their base - it's more than the big-money guys would do.
But they couldn't care less about the rubber hitting the road on this. I wish I was wrong, but Paul is already walking his comments back.
So we're pretty much left with a political nobody, RFK, who can 'afford' to be a 'kook'. Like Trump. (Also not an agent of change)
Posted by: Joy B | February 04, 2015 at 05:16 PM
Rand Paul did a little back tracking posting to his twitter or some other account a photo of him getting a vaccine... Christie did something similar, putting out a 2nd statement.
No one has the balls to stand up to the BIG PHARMA companies
Posted by: Jan R | February 04, 2015 at 05:09 PM
Bayareamom, All
The most potent way for Government to control the citizens (instead of being accountable to a country's citizenry) is to control their health care; this is Basic Principle 101 enunciated by Socialist/Communist/Leftist political teachings.
Controlling and mandating infant/child vaccines is the most insidious of all -- abrogating and stealing parents' rights and freedoms, and of course creating a growing zombie army of damaged kids completely dependent on government care for their care.
Posted by: david m burd | February 04, 2015 at 04:08 PM
I believe (or hope) Paul and Christie are taking a courageous stand as least as far as the agenda of some goes, though in the last poll (some years back) I saw a strong majority believed vaccination should be the parent's or personal choice. I do have a fear that this might devolve into a "bi-partisan" show where we get a "compromise" in the end that actually extends state or federal power to force vaccines (if Obamacare hasn't already essentially set up that ability as soon as they can slowly get everyone into the pot on the fire via telling people what to do to not lose their "healthcare" coverage).
But I also hope the discussion continues. Too many are paying and paying for the "benefits" of all those 1990-2000s (and some 1980 or earlier) vaccines in ways they don't understand, admittedly ways many often don't want to understand, but I seem to have some degree of OCD over not having people left in the dark at risk of being informed in a more painful way perhaps.
Just my perspective: I don't think it's accurate to say Rand Paul has flipped by getting a vaccine. He sounded pretty pro-vaccine to me all along, but also pro-liberty and more pro-informed-consent than many seem to be. Though, he also briefly indicated to Laura Ingraham that there are cases he believes mandating them is justifiable if I interpreted correctly.
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | February 04, 2015 at 03:14 PM
I hope the many over here reading thru the various comments will take the relatively small amount of time it will take to view the video that Danchi put up just last night (I believe).
What the gentleman states in that video is that this entire issue re vaccines, measles, parental rights, etc., so forth, is NOT the real issue (although that's what they're hyping it up to be).
Make no mistake, this entire measles/vaccine issue is about FREEDOM...freedom to choose the sort of medical healthcare options we have available to us, and parental autonomy.
That's the issue. Unfortunately, the true issue is being diluted with all the incessant banter we're being exposed to via the MSM.
(Can't find that link, or I'd re-post it here.)
Posted by: Bayareamom | February 04, 2015 at 02:48 PM
Looks like Paul just backtracked on his comments. Thought maybe there was someone left in Washington that had a set of balls. Guess I was mistaken. Lure of big money donors again trumps the truth of what is happening to our children. I need a drink.
Posted by: Mike | February 04, 2015 at 02:36 PM
As to Ben Carson and (apparently) the large majority of doctors favoring vaccines: Carson said "safe immunization programs" I emphasize the word "safe."
Carson and his fellow doctors are completely unaware of vaccines' dangerous and lethal effects. In Carson's case he was a practicing surgeon and had not seen first-hand the carnage seen by pediatricians, etc. Thus, Carson is just plain ignorant of the truth.
Therein is THE basic obstacle: Carson et al. were indoctrinated in med school and intern work (before going into specialized surgery) to dogmatically believe in vaccines.
IF such as Carson can be enticed into reading enough truthful papers/reports about such as William Thompson's corrupted Study, I think such a doctor (now retired) would indeed come around, and quite quickly.
So, how do such as we at AoA get such papers/reports in doctors' hands??
Posted by: david m burd | February 04, 2015 at 02:29 PM
Kristine, you are wrong about Gov. Christie. He has taken the time to appear at multiple "town halls" where on camera, but not publicized in media outlets anywhere, he has spoken numerous times in favor of a parent's right to have a say in their children's vaccinations, and also that he can understand why parents would want that right, especially if their child had a bad reaction to a vaccine. This is not a new comment or line of thought from Christie. He has been consistent and vocal on this issue in support of parental rights. He also put his money where his mouth is by pocket vetoing the flu shot for HCWs bill that raced through the NJ Assembly and Senate twice with full bipartisan support. If he hadn't let the bill lapse, twice, it would be the law right now. Gov. Christie needs our support, and he has earned it in my opinion.
Posted by: Fan of Christie | February 04, 2015 at 02:29 PM
The fact that political figures and possible candidates are weighing in suddenly just goes to further prove that vaccines are a political issue ONLY. It's not about the almighty "science" as we are led to believe through the media. Clear to anyone in the know this is a manufactured "epidemic". So ridiculous, and so disappointing that so many don't even realize how they are being manipulated by the fear the media is selling.
Interestingly, Obama made similar statements to Christie and Paul. Of course he started with the usual "the science is pretty clear vaccines are safe" which makes his statement different that Christie and Paul, however, his office also clarified that Obama does support parental choice. It kinda pains me to say this because, as a libertarian, I disagree with Obama on almost all issues. Of course, the usual from H. Clinton since she is the biggest flip-flopper there ever was- never seen that one actually stand up for something.
Posted by: Kristine | February 04, 2015 at 02:06 PM
I never thought of the two as contenders for President. I am changing my mind. Rand Paul, you are good man.
Posted by: Birgit Calhoun | February 04, 2015 at 01:12 PM
Here's a troubling article and pic of Sen. Paul, I just found from the New York Times. Why on Earth does anyone need a Hep A vaccine, anyway? It's not even a relevant pathogen.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/03/rand-paul-gets-a-booster-vaccination/?_r=1
Posted by: Fan of Christie | February 04, 2015 at 01:02 PM
Well, Carson just lost me -- forever-- as a potential supporter.
Go Gov. Christie! Go Sen. Paul! The heck with everyone else.
Posted by: Fan of Christie | February 04, 2015 at 11:59 AM
Danchi,
Yes, backtracking in a big way. Of course it was explained to him that he will tow the party line, which includes teaching the masses to pray to the vaccine god, or he is out.
Posted by: Linda1 | February 04, 2015 at 11:32 AM
Hitting the alt media today, wonder if this is true?
http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/03/obama-admin-grants-immunity-to-cdc-scientist-that-fudged-vaccine-report-whistleblower-plans-to-testify-before-congress/
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | February 04, 2015 at 11:28 AM
Oh, God bless Rand Paul -- have written him and Mitch and Hal Rogers over and over again that our drug problem is comorbid with mental illness and mental illness is linked to brain injuries and I have witnessed brain injuries in my family from vaccines.
We are being heard.
Ignored mostly.
Except - Just remember everyone that reads "Age of Autism" all -- what happens to one family is not happening in a vaccum.
Which is what the CDC, NIH, medical doctors, peds-- and our fifth arm of the government - "news - reporters ) wants us to think/believe. That is what they made my family think
-- untill the internet connected us all.
Posted by: Benedetta | February 04, 2015 at 11:12 AM
Take note - Quote by Ben Carson MD, who also has presidential aspirations.
“Certain communicable diseases have been largely eradicated by immunization policies in this country and we should not allow those diseases to return by foregoing safe immunization programs, for philosophical, religious or other reasons when we have the means to eradicate them,” he said in a statement on Monday.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/carson-blames-measles-on-immigrants/ar-AA8YIi9
Posted by: Linda1 | February 04, 2015 at 10:58 AM
An article in Mail Daily shows clearly vaccines are political not, medical because Rand Paul has flipped his position and has a photo of him receiving the Hepatitis A Booster shot with quote:
He tweeted 'Ironic: Today I am getting my booster vaccine. Wonder how the liberal media will misreport this?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2939074/Pictured-Rand-Paul-getting-booster-shot-Hepatitis-making-controversial-comments-childhood-vaccinations.html.
What can you expect from a person who plagiarizes others writing and lies and says either he wrote them or he doesn't remember reading them.
Posted by: Danchi | February 04, 2015 at 09:44 AM
"Senator Paul says he is a "Big fan of vaccines, but they can cause mental disorders." For the life of me I'm trying to put together any combination of items in which I would say, "I'm a big fan of X, but it can cause mental disorders."
I think we are all "big fans" of air bags in autos .. tires on autos .. highway guide rails .. etc. etc.
However, when the "air bags" are known to virtually explode sending shards of shrapnel into the face of the person sitting in front of them .. we are not so much a "fan" anymore.
Or .. when the tires we have on our autos .. are known to be unsafe due to blow-outs caused by faulty design and materials .. we are not so much a "fan" anymore.
Or .. when highway guide rails are redesigned because it is cheaper to do so .. and .. those guide rails no longer crumple upon impact but cut like a dull knife through hot butter .. impaling those inside auto .. we are not so much a "fan" anymore.
And so too .. we .. including Rand and Christie .. ought not be a "fan" of ANY product known to be "unavoidably unsafe" .. having government provided "product liability" protections .. which include denying parents their right to appeal for justice in State or Federal Courts ..
Does anyone really believe .. had victims of "unsafe products" been forced to pursue justice in "air bag" .. "tire" .. "guard rail" .. courts .. instead of State and Federal Courts .. those products would have been removed from the marketplace before they could cause anymore harm .. cost manufacturers untold millions in damages .. and .. served as a warning to all other manufacturers they would be held responsible for shoddy design and materials making their "unavoidably unsafe" products even more so?
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | February 04, 2015 at 07:56 AM