Will the survivors of deadly mumps please raise their hands......

[Guest guest]

And I bet that those still alive to tell the tale belong to my generation.

Ingrid

Mumps the word!

As you know, I'm not exactly a fan of vaccinations. At best, they're

unnecessary. At worst, they're downright deadly. But the fact is that the

medical community (read: BIG PHARMA) has done such a bang-up job of

convincing everyone that they're an absolute necessity that in many cases,

you are LEGALLY REQUIRED to be vaccinated.

This gross violation of personal freedom was on full display recently when

the University of Southern Maine sent out notices to 400 students that they

were being banned from campus for failing to meet the latest vaccination

requirements for mumps. Yes, banned. This isn't anything new, you

understand. In the not-so-politically correct past, lepers were cut-off from

society and left to literally rot in colonies on remote islands. But these

students don't have mumps--they just haven't been vaccinated against mumps.

Anyone else think this is a violation of personal rights?

These notices went out after a recent mumps outbreak throughout the state of

Maine (officials believe this spread down out of Canada). Among the 400

who've been banished from the halls of learning (you'd have to wonder

exactly what they'd learn at a university that's so willing to employ these

kinds of extreme, Draconian tactics) are 20 students who have declined the

vaccinations on religious or philosophical grounds. In other words, those

that stood up for their rights.

How seriously is the University of Southern Maine taking this " dangerous "

mumps health threat? So seriously that students who are medically exempt

from the vaccination are allowed on campus with " special passes. " (Reminds

me of the Nazis in old movies: " Show me your papers, please! " ) So now you're

thinking, " Hold on, s -- there's got to be a very good reason for

this. Mumps must be a deadly virus, right? "

Wrong.

The mumps are painful. There's fever. There's a swelling of the salivary

glands around the jaw. It's not pleasant, and it's another of those

childhood diseases like chicken pox which is much more painful to weather as

an adult. But to be clear: it's not gonna kill you. In fact, most common

treatment for the mumps is an ice bag and a couple of aspirin.

In the rarest of rare cases, the results could be a mild form of meningitis,

organ infections, Encephalitis (rarely fatal), and sterility in men. And I

suppose these " risks " could be considered serious if the University of

Southern Maine happened to be located somewhere in the Congo where disease

is rife, sanitation poor, and medical aid practically nonexistent. But this

is Maine -- and last I heard, that was one of the forty-eight contiguous

States. Hardly the wilds of Africa.

So where did the University get the wrong-headed idea that they needed to

treat 400 of their student body like disease-ridden pariahs? From Maine's

state government, of course (I love putting blame where it so often belongs:

in the laps of unthinking, butt-covering bureaucrats). The Maine Center for

Disease Control and Prevention recommended that these actions be taken, and

they have amended the health codes on states college campuses to require two

doses of the vaccine. Most people receive their first and only mumps

vaccination not long after birth -- it's known as the MMR (the same one that

has been linked to the rise in the number of cases of autism in

children...).

The campus ban has caused all kinds of issues, especially for the

University, since it's now their responsibility to work to find off-campus

housing for the 400 affected students, and to make special arrangements to

allow these students to complete their coursework for the semester.

Of course, I'm probably the lone voice in the wilderness decrying this

act -- yet another case of something stupid and dangerously wrong being

enacted in the name of " the common good. " But as if to underscore my point,

there have been a whopping eight laboratory-confirmed cases of mumps in the

entire state of Maine, and just thirty-five suspected cases. So I know who's

being ridiculous here. It's not the students -- especially not the 20

students who stood firm against the vaccination fascists. And it certainly

isn't me. Who's left? You do the math.

A sweet solution for kids' coughs

Fortunately, not all research concludes that the best cure is always found

at the business end of a hypodermic needle. In a nice counter to that

enraging vaccination story, there's a new study out about a simple,

non-medical, and darn tasty solution for children's coughs: a teaspoon of

honey. According to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and

Adolescent Medicine, this homey folk remedy was better than cough medicine

for children. It calmed the cough, helped kids sleep better, and coated and

soothed the irritated throat.

This report is like a breath of fresh air. There have been recent warnings

about the dangers of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children

younger than age six, and (shockingly) some Big Pharma companies even

removed their baby cough-and-cold products from the market. Of course, many

parents already know that honey shouldn't be given to kids from birth until

after age one (there's a rare but serious danger of botulism).

I love it when grandma's old remedies are verified by research. This

particular study used 105 kids with upper respiratory infections, some were

given honey, others a honey-flavored cough medicine. All the kids got better

but plain-old honey consistently scored higher than the drugs at combating

the symptoms.

Pretty sweet, huh?

Helping to keep the needles at bay,

s II, M.D.

[Guest guest]

And I bet that those still alive to tell the tale belong to my generation.

Ingrid

Mumps the word!

As you know, I'm not exactly a fan of vaccinations. At best, they're

unnecessary. At worst, they're downright deadly. But the fact is that the

medical community (read: BIG PHARMA) has done such a bang-up job of

convincing everyone that they're an absolute necessity that in many cases,

you are LEGALLY REQUIRED to be vaccinated.

This gross violation of personal freedom was on full display recently when

the University of Southern Maine sent out notices to 400 students that they

were being banned from campus for failing to meet the latest vaccination

requirements for mumps. Yes, banned. This isn't anything new, you

understand. In the not-so-politically correct past, lepers were cut-off from

society and left to literally rot in colonies on remote islands. But these

students don't have mumps--they just haven't been vaccinated against mumps.

Anyone else think this is a violation of personal rights?

These notices went out after a recent mumps outbreak throughout the state of

Maine (officials believe this spread down out of Canada). Among the 400

who've been banished from the halls of learning (you'd have to wonder

exactly what they'd learn at a university that's so willing to employ these

kinds of extreme, Draconian tactics) are 20 students who have declined the

vaccinations on religious or philosophical grounds. In other words, those

that stood up for their rights.

How seriously is the University of Southern Maine taking this " dangerous "

mumps health threat? So seriously that students who are medically exempt

from the vaccination are allowed on campus with " special passes. " (Reminds

me of the Nazis in old movies: " Show me your papers, please! " ) So now you're

thinking, " Hold on, s -- there's got to be a very good reason for

this. Mumps must be a deadly virus, right? "

Wrong.

The mumps are painful. There's fever. There's a swelling of the salivary

glands around the jaw. It's not pleasant, and it's another of those

childhood diseases like chicken pox which is much more painful to weather as

an adult. But to be clear: it's not gonna kill you. In fact, most common

treatment for the mumps is an ice bag and a couple of aspirin.

In the rarest of rare cases, the results could be a mild form of meningitis,

organ infections, Encephalitis (rarely fatal), and sterility in men. And I

suppose these " risks " could be considered serious if the University of

Southern Maine happened to be located somewhere in the Congo where disease

is rife, sanitation poor, and medical aid practically nonexistent. But this

is Maine -- and last I heard, that was one of the forty-eight contiguous

States. Hardly the wilds of Africa.

So where did the University get the wrong-headed idea that they needed to

treat 400 of their student body like disease-ridden pariahs? From Maine's

state government, of course (I love putting blame where it so often belongs:

in the laps of unthinking, butt-covering bureaucrats). The Maine Center for

Disease Control and Prevention recommended that these actions be taken, and

they have amended the health codes on states college campuses to require two

doses of the vaccine. Most people receive their first and only mumps

vaccination not long after birth -- it's known as the MMR (the same one that

has been linked to the rise in the number of cases of autism in

children...).

The campus ban has caused all kinds of issues, especially for the

University, since it's now their responsibility to work to find off-campus

housing for the 400 affected students, and to make special arrangements to

allow these students to complete their coursework for the semester.

Of course, I'm probably the lone voice in the wilderness decrying this

act -- yet another case of something stupid and dangerously wrong being

enacted in the name of " the common good. " But as if to underscore my point,

there have been a whopping eight laboratory-confirmed cases of mumps in the

entire state of Maine, and just thirty-five suspected cases. So I know who's

being ridiculous here. It's not the students -- especially not the 20

students who stood firm against the vaccination fascists. And it certainly

isn't me. Who's left? You do the math.

A sweet solution for kids' coughs

Fortunately, not all research concludes that the best cure is always found

at the business end of a hypodermic needle. In a nice counter to that

enraging vaccination story, there's a new study out about a simple,

non-medical, and darn tasty solution for children's coughs: a teaspoon of

honey. According to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and

Adolescent Medicine, this homey folk remedy was better than cough medicine

for children. It calmed the cough, helped kids sleep better, and coated and

soothed the irritated throat.

This report is like a breath of fresh air. There have been recent warnings

about the dangers of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children

younger than age six, and (shockingly) some Big Pharma companies even

removed their baby cough-and-cold products from the market. Of course, many

parents already know that honey shouldn't be given to kids from birth until

after age one (there's a rare but serious danger of botulism).

I love it when grandma's old remedies are verified by research. This

particular study used 105 kids with upper respiratory infections, some were

given honey, others a honey-flavored cough medicine. All the kids got better

but plain-old honey consistently scored higher than the drugs at combating

the symptoms.

Pretty sweet, huh?

Helping to keep the needles at bay,

s II, M.D.