I took the time awhile back to write Pres. Trump (via VAXXED) the story about our son's reactions to his vaccines and have absolutely NO idea what happened with that. Those of us who submitted our stories were told that this was a sort of quiet endeavor to get our stories read/told to Pres. Trump.

I can't remember precisely when this was - perhaps a year or so ago. At any rate, I never heard ANYTHING, afterwards. Makes me wonder if he ever saw any of those stories and/or if he did, what did he think? Did it not make any impression on him at all?

I'd love to know...

Anyone want to speculate what Steven Miller, Trump's chief policy advisor position on vaccinations? If you have no one in your circle who has a deep understanding of vaccination issues, Trumps knowledge is extremely superficial, then nothing will happen.

@Bob -

We're on the same side of the autism-vaccine issue. I've always respected you and always read your posts, because I'm curious about why other people think the way they think. No one learns anything from an echo chamber. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me.

I've thought about what you said. I suppose part of the reason I am angry - and getting angrier - is because the autism numbers keep getting worse and worse. And no one - not Republican or Democrat seems to do ANYTHING. You're absolutely right that I've been quick to criticize Trump. He made promises, and I had hope. It's hard to see hope die. I do think I've frequently said on this site that I am appalled by Democratic actions and inactions on the autism-vaccine issue. And I don't think I've exactly been complicit - throughout the last decade I have often contacted my representatives, Senators, and even President Obama on the issue. Unfortunately, as a political independent (which I've been most of my voting life) neither party listens to me. : - )

You asked about other politicians. I did like Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party in the last election, but she wasn't ever a viable presidential candidate.

I'll let it go now. Peace, Bob, and wishing you well.

I second Rtp's suggestion to stop pussy-footing around.

There is a book entitled "Fooling Ourselves on the Fundamental Value of Vaccination" by Greg Beattie in Australia that I would highly recommend reading. It will really dispel any lingering notion that vaccination has saved lives, much less prevented disease. You can get a pdf copy for a few bucks I think (I have no affiliation with the author). The lines of argument are much more devastating to the vaccine paradigm than safety arguments, for reasons Rtp explained nicely: safety is a fear-based game, and they have the ultimate fearmongering trump cards.

We're bombarded with corporate media articles asking why people think vaccines are unsafe when the real question is "Why do people think vaccines are safe ?" It's because of low-quality articles like the recent one I'm quoting a bit of here, the kind of propaganda piece The Atlantic now specializes in:

"The reported relationship [between vaccines and autism] became the subject of numerous scientific investigations, none of which found any relationship. No question in the history of vaccine reactions has been so thoroughly litigated. Given the amount of available evidence, autism is one of the claims that Nair [Narayan Nair, "head of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program"] and colleagues can confidently deny, he told me. The legal precedent dates to 2010, after more than 5,000 cases had been filed claiming a link between vaccines and autism. The result was a legal review known as the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, which ultimately found no causal relationship between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder." https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/05/vaccine-safety-program/589354/

But the author should have sought out other sources instead of taking dictation from one:

"Pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Zimmerman originally served as the expert medical witness for the government, which defends vaccines in federal vaccine court. He had testified that vaccines do not cause autism in specific patients.

Dr. Zimmerman now has signed a bombshell sworn affidavit. He says that, during a group of 5,000 vaccine-autism cases being heard in court on June 15, 2007, he took aside the Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers he worked for defending vaccines and told them he’d discovered 'exceptions in which vaccinations could cause autism.'

'I explained that in a subset of children, vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation did cause regressive brain disease with features of autism spectrum disorder,' Dr. Zimmerman now states. He said his opinion was based on 'scientific advances' as well as his own experience with patients.

For the government and vaccine industry’s own pro-vaccine expert to have this scientific opinion stood to change everything about the vaccine-autism debate — if people were to find out.

But they didn’t.

Dr. Zimmerman goes on to say that once the DOJ lawyers learned of his position, they quickly fired him as an expert witness and kept his opinion secret from other parents and the rest of the public.

What’s worse, he says the DOJ went on to misrepresent his opinion in federal vaccine court to continue to debunk vaccine-autism claims...." https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/how-a-pro-vaccine-doctor-reopened-debate-about-link-to-autism/

@ Aimee

"Here's my question. Why isn't our president doing anything about this? Perhaps Trump should also be voted out of office for reneging on his promise to do something about vaccines and autism - for more than once appointing pro-vax people to HHS, FDA, CDC - for abandoning a vaccine safety commission (another promise), and for recently actively urging people to vaccinate?"

With all due respect for your opinions .. Obama was in office for 8 years .. perhaps I missed it .. what exactly did Obama do in his 8 years as President to help our community? I think your suggestion Trump be voted out of office he has held for less than 3 years a bit premature.

Consider the fact that the majority of Democratic politicians have been in office for DECADES now .. Schumer, Pelosi, Schiff, on and on .. Trump on the other hand has been in office for about 2 years.

If you believe Trump .. after being in office for less than ONE FULL TERM .. should be voted out of office for reneging on his promise to do something about vaccines and autism .. do you also believe and will YOU CALL FOR EVERY DEMOCRAT THAT HAS BEEN IN OFFICE FOR MORE THAN ONE TERM ALSO BE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE?

Just curious.

Grace, it is easy in Australia. None of our rules (yet) have affected education in anyway - just childcare and a small welfare payment that is irrelevant for most families anyway.

Lack of childcare makes it difficult for some obviously (particularly single mothers and those without access to grandparents) but it certainly isn't insurmountable for those of us who value our children not being poisoned. In fact, up until kindergarten, only around half of kids are in daycare (most are either with their mums or their grandparents).

What's more, even for those without access to grandparents there are easy ways to avoid this. Au pairs are vastly superior substitutes than child care arrangements anyway.

And it should be stressed that, at least for the time being, there are only two states (albeit the two largest ones) that outright ban unvaxed kids from daycare and kindergarten - the rest of us simply don't get the daycare subsidy.

Can I suggest that au pair arrangements are what non-vaxing parents in the US (who both want to work) should be looking at if they need to homeschool? The parents would still do the schooling, but the au pair would do the babysitting when both parents need to work.

You guys have it potentially worse than us because you have a constitutional ruling that explicitly permits compulsory vaccination. That ruling was an utter joke and completely turns every other principle of the constitution on its head but it is still there until the Supreme Court overturns it. Our High Court has never made such a ruling and therefore the default under common law is that no government can force what would amount to an assault of the body.

On the other hand, you have the vast majority of one important political party more or less explicitly on your side which we don't have.

None of this is to say that our policies are ok or that they won't get worse. They are disgusting and a source of a great deal of stress, but from my own personal point of view (I never used childcare and I don't live in one of the states that banned kindergarten year) they have barely made any practical impact on our lives.

But again, anti-vaxers need to stop pussy-footing around no matter which country they are in. Challenge the idea that vaccines work. Challenge the idea that diseases are caused by germs. Challenge the idea that diseases are contagious.

People (non-vaxers) challenge me on this approach because they tell me that if you start telling someone that germ theory is a lie they will immediately dismiss you. And in a sense that's true but here's the thing: I could walk down a street and speak to 100 people and convince 95 of them that vaccines are more dangerous than they imagined. The problem is that when those 95 people visit a doctor, 90 of them will still leave with an injection because the doctor bullies the **** out of them with tales of millions of smallpox and pertussis and herpes deaths.

On the other hand, if you explain to someone that the germ theory is a lie (eg by pointing out that doctors are alive somehow) then the first time they will ignore you completely - it won't shift their views at all. But if someone else comes along and tells them the same thing and half a dozen other people also tell them this then their views will shift, and more importantly, they are now, well, "inoculated" against doctor bullying or measles hysteria.

They will sit and listen to their doctors berate them with a big smile on their face and the simple response of "but doctor, if all of your stories of highly contagious and dangerous diseases (regardless of whether we have vaccines for them) were true, then you wouldn't be alive to tell me about them would you?"

I think there is an "easy" way to stop that atrocity - stop paying property taxes and file a class action suits to force school districts to pay parents per-pupil allotment that they receive from the State and Feds. Property taxes would go into escrow, but not to the State, until they restore exemptions and reinstall children in schools/daycare. That needs to be an organized action though, not every parent by themselves. I am in California, and I hear that rural school districts here are bleeding students and have to lay off teachers and staff.

It would be interesting to hear from people in California, or Italy or Australia, as to how they are managing under this sort of tyranny. Have they been forced to vaccinate or have they managed to find ways around it? I realize some people will want to remain anonymous.

I'd like to see author Stephen King write a horror novel about the Maine State Legislature, but he has too much love for the Democratic Party to ever write something as horrifying as the story of what just happened in his home state due to the most Pharma-corrupted political party there is right now-- the Democratic Party. Sad. Tragic. Disgusting! Vote these bums out of office! They are unworthy of any public trust! And for those turncoat Democrats and other Democrats who voted for this disgusting bill-- SHAME ON YOU! May the images of all the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children who will become vaccine-injured and vaccine-killed if any of their parents are forced to comply with your horrible bill haunt you for the rest of your days! Your bill will not save lives, but is sure will take lives away, and destroy others!

No words.