Free Republic

A new study this week found no link between vaccines and autism. It instantly made headlines on TV news and popular media everywhere. Many billed it as the final word, “once again,” disproving the notion that vaccines could have anything to do with autism. What you didn’t learn on the news was that the study was from a consulting firm that lists major vaccine makers among its clients: The Lewin Group. That potential conflict of interest was not disclosed in the paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine; the study authors simply declare “The Lewin Group operates with...

Those of us, of a certain age, remember the post-World War II promise of Science. Splitting the atom would bring us virtually unlimited cheap electrical power; antibiotics and vaccine technology (a la Salk/Sabin) would eliminate the scourge of infectious disease; and elucidation of the structure of DNA would lead to a cancer cure. But 60-odd years later, we have radioactive waste; terrifying antibiotic resistant pathogens; and despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars on cancer research and mapping the human genome, are no closer to that elusive cure. As to DNA, its greatest contribution has been to forensic science, which...

An Oregon lawmaker proposed legislation Monday creating uniform standards for hand dryers in public restrooms, citing the proliferation of powerful dryers that, while efficient, can sometimes trigger tinnitus or cause discomfort for people with development or sensory disabilities. The measure would require all new or replacement dryers to operate at a noise level no louder than 84 decibels. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that is about as loud as a school cafeteria. It also wouldn’t allow hand dryers blowing air downwards to blow air faster than 115 mph, in case the hand-dryer manufacturer doesn’t label...

A study found that poor language skills and language delays can be predicted even before the child is diagnosed with autism. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects one's social, communication and behavior. There is no medical test yet used to rule out if a child has autism, but symptoms are usually detected as early as 18 months or younger. However, some are not diagnosed until they are older, which delays the help that they need. Language delays are very common in ASD children, and doctors usually recommend speech therapy. Researchers at at the University of California,...

With lawmakers preparing to vote on a bill blocking parents from skipping vaccinations for their children, prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrived at the Sacramento screening of a film linking autism to the vaccine preservative thimerosal and warned that public health officials cannot be trusted. “They can put anything they want in that vaccine and they have no accountability for it,” said Kennedy, who walked onto and left a Crest Theater stage to standing ovations, of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wednesday afternoon will see the first hearing for a bill eliminating the personal belief...

April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day was inaugurated by a UN Resolution (62/139), adopted by the General Assembly on December 18, 2007. This soon transformed into Autism Awareness Month, which spawned Autism Acceptance Month in 2011 (more on that later). No doubt, a condition affecting approximately 1 in 68 children in the US (according to the CDC) is worthy of a month’s recognition. Compare that figure to the 1 in 150 rate, reported in 2000. In keeping with the proclamation, let us become aware, and try not to get smothered by the semantics… The term “autism” was first used...

According to the feminist group FEMSOC, short for Feminist Society, “being autistic is a feminist issue.” In an article published by NUI Galway’s student newspaper, writer Emer McHugh makes the case in a piece called, “Is there anything as strange as a normal person? Being autistic is a feminist issue.” The main theme of Ms. Galway’s article is that there needs to be more autistic women in popular media and “cishet-white-males” are ruining the life of autistic women worldwide. “Over the years,” Ms. Galway writes, “I’ve mentally collated the reactions I get when I come out to them, and they...

The current controversy over whether parents should be forced to have their children vaccinated for measles is one of the painful signs of our times. Measles was virtually wiped out in the United States, years ago. Why the resurgence of this disease now? The short answer is that false claims, based on other false claims, led many parents to stop getting their children vaccinated against measles. The key false claim was that the vaccine for measles caused an increase in autism. This claim was made in 1998 by a doctor writing in a distinguished British medical journal, so it is...

A 2008 Pentagon report claims Russian President Vladimir Putin has Asperger's syndrome, according to a copy of the study obtained by CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin. The research was conducted by the Office of Net Assessment, a secretive, internal Pentagon think tank. It defined Asperger's syndrome as "an autistic disorder which affects all of his decisions." The analysis is solely based on videos of Putin's public actions, dating back to the year 2000. The researchers did not claim to have access to any data from scans of Putin's brain.

Democrats were gleeful when Republicans Chris Christie and Rand Paul got tangled this week in the debate over the Disneyland measles outbreak, until similar words from the pasts of President Obama and 2016 front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton came out. Mr. Christie walked back his recent comments calling for “balance” and a role for “parental choice” on childhood vaccines, saying in a Monday statement that “with a disease like measles, there’s no question kids should be vaccinated.” But the Democratic posturing as the party of science was short-lived. Several websites promptly dug up a comment from Mr. Obama during the 2008...

This week, controversy broke out over whether state governments have the power to require parents to have their children vaccinated. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, no stranger to compelling his citizens to stay off the roads during blizzards, announced that he had some sympathy for the anti-vaccination position: "I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So that's the balance the government has to decide." Kentucky Senator Rand Paul doubled down on Christie's remarks, stating, "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound...

A critic of mandatory child vaccinations made no apologies for her views in an appearance on Newsmax TV Tuesday, and said that public anger over the Disneyland measles outbreak should be directed at pharmaceutical companies and the federal government, not people like her. "What's happening is people are freaking out about measles outbreaks," Louise Kuo Habakus said ina combative interview with "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner. "They're pointing the finger at unvaccinated children and non-vaccinated families, when really what needs to happen is people need to be pointing the finger at industry and at Congress." Habakus, co-founder of a group called...

ulture: An unlikely issue has entered the infant 2016 presidential campaign: Vaccines and required vaccinations. Let's hope the fact there's no scientific link to autism or anything else isn't lost in the political fray. Candidates will often look for an edge over their opponents. Thus, both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky recently suggested that, while vaccinations are good, forcing parents to vaccinate their children might be too much. We believe vaccines are safe and should be routine, but concern about parents' rights is not unreasonable. What really gripes us, however, is listening to the...

Rand Paul does a lot of interviews -- a lot. This, from time to time, has gotten him in trouble. Rarely, though, has it gone as poorly as this. Speaking Monday afternoon with CNBC, Paul: 1) Reiterated his contention that vaccines should be voluntary. 2) Said this: "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines." (Michele Bachmann said something similar during the 2012 presidential campaign. It didn't go over well.) 3) Actually shushed the anchor when he thought she wasn't allowing him to answer her questions.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul is standing by his statement that most vaccinations should be "voluntary," telling CNBC that a parent's choice not to vaccinate a child is "an issue of freedom." In an interview with the network Monday, Paul said that vaccines are "a good thing" but that parents "should have some input" into whether or not their children must get them. And he gave credence to the idea - disputed by the majority of the scientific community - that vaccination can lead to mental disabilities. "I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound...

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Since Dylan Green was 2 years old, he has had a passion for vacuum cleaners. Dylan, who has autism, was never into “normal” toys, his mother Jodie told WTVR. The middle school student turned 14 over the weekend and celebrated his birthday with a party that included close friends, family and a vacuum salesman. In an effort to help make her son’s birthday special, Dylan’s mother sent an email to the Kirby Company, the Cleveland-based makers of the Kirby vacuum. “I am reaching out to you in hopes for an answer to an unusual request for...

No, apparently this is not a spoof, the scion of the man who was responsible for the Cuban blockade is full of awe for the Cuban dictatorship. Sure, it’s a dictatorship, but other than that, it’s just ducky, apparently. Writing in the South American news agency MercoPress, Robert F. Kennedy avers, after admitting the dictatorship and lack of a free press: Despite its poverty, Cuba has managed some impressive accomplishments. Cuba’s government boasts the highest literacy rates for its population of any nation in the hemisphere. Cuba claims its citizens enjoy universal access to health care and more doctors per...

In early December, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades of a misguided policy which my uncle, John F. Kennedy, and my father, Robert F. Kennedy, had been responsible for enforcing after the U.S. embargo against the country was first implemented in October 1960 by the Eisenhower administration. The move has raised hopes in many quarters – not only in the United States but around the world – that the embargo itself is now destined to disappear. This does not detract from the fact that Cuba is still a dictatorship. The...

U.S. scientists have identified a molecular network of genes known to contribute to autism spectrum disorders, and they say their finding may help uncover new genes linked to these conditions. "The study of autism disorders is extremely challenging due to the large number of clinical mutations that occur in hundreds of different human genes associated with autism," study author Michael Snyder, genetics and personalized medicine professor at Stanford University, said in a news release. "We therefore wanted to see to what extent shared molecular pathways are perturbed by the diverse set of mutations linked to autism in the hope of...

When a veteran academic finds something notable in a Republican president’s administration, it’s generally the expansion of a federal government program. At the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), on Tuesday, Michael Wiseman, an economist at George Washington University (GWU), called Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the disabled, the “big achievement of the Nixon years.” The program dates from 1974. Currently, millions of adults and children are on the program, and millions more are likely to be. “Since 1996, the real value of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as the Clinton Administration and the Republican Congress renamed welfare) has been declining,”...