Re: Mark Blaxill

[Guest guest]

I know JB you have said what is in the

hearts of many. many people on this list.....

....thank you for putting it so eloquently .and

so truthfully Suzanne REAACH

From: EOHarm [mailto:EOHarm ] On Behalf Of bradfordhandley

Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006

12:41 AM

EOHarm

Subject: Mark Blaxill

While I'm at it, I wanted to say that Mark Blaxill is

one of my true

heroes.

Aside from being one of the smartest people I have ever met, Mark

has our kid's interests as his only M.O. Unlike many of us, myself

included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and

make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and sometimes

operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline,

and the ability to see the world from the " other side's " point of

view.

Mark and SafeMinds have been instrumental in making some of the most

important science in our community happen. They are a buffer that

allows folks like me to scream from the rooftops while they do the

dirty work of pushing the rock slowly up the hill through our

scientific establishment. They have worked behind the scenes and put

untold hours into our cause which most of us will never know about.

To spend time questioning the motivations of Mark or any other

member of our community serves no productive purpose and is wholly

misguided, in my opinion.

Hats off to you, Mark, and the whole SafeMinds team. We're lucky we

have you.

JB

[Guest guest]

Thanks JB for posting this. I couldn't agree more.

Politics can be ugly. One can only hope that our pursuit of truth and

justice does not make us casualties along the way.

I have always felt strength from the autism community but I do not

feel it now. It is sad and difficult to see bitterness and

resentments grow. We are all different yet we are all here because our

children need us to blaze the trail.

The CAA has become a symbol of division and that reality does us all

much harm.

>

> While I'm at it, I wanted to say that Mark Blaxill is one of my true

> heroes.

>

> Aside from being one of the smartest people I have ever met, Mark

> has our kid's interests as his only M.O. Unlike many of us, myself

> included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and

> make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and sometimes

> operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline,

> and the ability to see the world from the " other side's " point of

> view.

>

> Mark and SafeMinds have been instrumental in making some of the most

> important science in our community happen. They are a buffer that

> allows folks like me to scream from the rooftops while they do the

> dirty work of pushing the rock slowly up the hill through our

> scientific establishment. They have worked behind the scenes and put

> untold hours into our cause which most of us will never know about.

>

> To spend time questioning the motivations of Mark or any other

> member of our community serves no productive purpose and is wholly

> misguided, in my opinion.

>

> Hats off to you, Mark, and the whole SafeMinds team. We're lucky we

> have you.

>

> JB

>

[Guest guest]

Hear, hear!!!

Barb

Mark Blaxill

While I'm at it, I wanted to say that Mark Blaxill is one of my true heroes.Aside from being one of the smartest people I have ever met, Mark has our kid's interests as his only M.O. Unlike many of us, myself included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and sometimes operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline, and the ability to see the world from the "other side's" point of view.Mark and SafeMinds have been instrumental in making some of the most important science in our community happen. They are a buffer that allows folks like me to scream from the rooftops while they do the dirty work of pushing the rock slowly up the hill through our scientific establishment. They have worked behind the scenes and put untold hours into our cause which most of us will never know about.To spend time questioning the motivations of Mark or any other member of our community serves no productive purpose and is wholly misguided, in my opinion.Hats off to you, Mark, and the whole SafeMinds team. We're lucky we have you.JB

[Guest guest]

Weed wrote so eloquently:

"We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell me "where it hurts", her voice stolen by the insidious poison injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never compromise my position for some "suit" suspiciously wearing a puzzle pin on his lapel. The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their cause NOT compromise it!"

-- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HOW FAR DO YOU THINK MOM'S AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (MADD) WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ADVANCING THEIR CAUSE AGAINST A POWERFUL ALCHOLOL INDUSTRY IF THEY "COMPROMISED" THEIR CAUSE BY ACCEPTING LEGISLATION THAT IGNORED "ALCOLHOL" BUT PROMOTED "SAVING LIVES" INSTEAD BY IMPROVING DRIVING EDUCATION, BETTER ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC LAWS, LOWERING SPEED LIMITS, WEARING SEAT BELTS, ETC.?

YES, THESE WOULD BE "GOOD" THINGS, BUT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO GET DRUNK DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THEY KILLED SOMEONE ELSE.

[Guest guest]

Weed wrote so eloquently:

"We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell me "where it hurts", her voice stolen by the insidious poison injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never compromise my position for some "suit" suspiciously wearing a puzzle pin on his lapel. The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their cause NOT compromise it!"

-- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HOW FAR DO YOU THINK MOM'S AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (MADD) WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ADVANCING THEIR CAUSE AGAINST A POWERFUL ALCHOLOL INDUSTRY IF THEY "COMPROMISED" THEIR CAUSE BY ACCEPTING LEGISLATION THAT IGNORED "ALCOLHOL" BUT PROMOTED "SAVING LIVES" INSTEAD BY IMPROVING DRIVING EDUCATION, BETTER ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC LAWS, LOWERING SPEED LIMITS, WEARING SEAT BELTS, ETC.?

YES, THESE WOULD BE "GOOD" THINGS, BUT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO GET DRUNK DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THEY KILLED SOMEONE ELSE.

[Guest guest]

JB, With all due respect, and I do appreciate all your efforts on

behalf of our children, I do have a slight problem with the

statement below:

" Unlike many of us, myself included, he has chosen to engage with

the other side to try and make things happen. This requires

diplomacy, patience, and sometimes operating in a more gray world.

It requires maturity, discipline, and the ability to see the world

from the " other side's " point of view " …

In the civil rights movement, I do not think their strategy for a

minute was to get into the " white man's shoes " ? The Civil Rights

leaders were indeed diplomatic and patient, but there was no room

for gray area. The issue in the movement was clearly black and

white. The Civil Rights leaders had the establishment sit at THEIR

table, forced them to walk in THEIR shoes, to see the world from

THEIR point of view. If the CR leaders would have compromised, all

they would have been granted is a seat near the front of the bus!

The CAA hasn't even granted our children that honor!

Let us never forget the cast of characters, who we are compromising

(our children's fate to) and dealing with here.

Those in congress who in my opinion, work undercover for pHARMa;

1. SANTORUM, who got busted for his actions by Imus, and publicly

spanked by Diedre,

2. ENZI, Who worked to get S-3 passed, and also failed to followed

up on the Special Counsel's call for an urgent investigation into

the use of mercury in vaccines (Office of the Special Counsel

letter).

3. FRIST, who proudly held the torch high for pHARMa against our

children, and was corrupt enough to author the words in the Eli

Lilly Rider, which was slipped in the Homeland Security Act.

The Homeland Security debacle was the very last assignment for Dick

Armey on his way OUT of office (the provision/ rider came directly

from his office with his name and bar code across the bottom). Who

knows what tricks Frist has up his sleeves as his grand finale.

Frist will undoubtedly be granting last minute pHARMa favors to his

buddies and will never be held accountable for his actions.

What we all are trying to accomplish here is to expose the horrific

TRUTH that our children are suffering from mercury poisoning, and

get them the medical help they desperately and deservedly need.

They fell victim the moment their delicate skin was pierced and the

poison flowed into their tiny vulnerable bodies. It is our moral

obligation to society and to our children to make that message as

CLEAR and CONCISE as we possibly can! To dilute the issue and allow

the " establishment " to cover-up this fact, so we can obtain a

coveted seat at THEIR table, is self serving and will never benefit

the needs of our mercury poisoned children!

We must NEVER lose sight of how our innocent children were maimed,

and we must NEVER justify a weak position that barely gets

recognition of what truly happened to them!

We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children

must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old

daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell

me " where it hurts " , her voice stolen by the insidious poison

injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never

compromise my position for some " suit " suspiciously wearing a puzzle

pin on his lapel.

The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their

cause NOT compromise it!

Working on behalf of my little hero, Lanier.

Weed

>

> While I'm at it, I wanted to say that Mark Blaxill is one of my

true

> heroes.

>

> Aside from being one of the smartest people I have ever met, Mark

> has our kid's interests as his only M.O. Unlike many of us, myself

> included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and

> make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and

sometimes

> operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline,

> and the ability to see the world from the " other side's " point of

> view.

>

> Mark and SafeMinds have been instrumental in making some of the

most

> important science in our community happen. They are a buffer that

> allows folks like me to scream from the rooftops while they do the

> dirty work of pushing the rock slowly up the hill through our

> scientific establishment. They have worked behind the scenes and

put

> untold hours into our cause which most of us will never know about.

>

> To spend time questioning the motivations of Mark or any other

> member of our community serves no productive purpose and is wholly

> misguided, in my opinion.

>

> Hats off to you, Mark, and the whole SafeMinds team. We're lucky

we

> have you.

>

> JB

>

[Guest guest]

The gray area/s is/are NOT, NEVER the SUBSTANCE of your position. They enter in as tools of process when you begin negotiations towards achieving yuor uncompromising OBJECTIVES. NELSON MANDELA never compromised on his objective to revoke apartheid in South Africa, but he did on the process and the aftermath of its demise. The truth and reconciliation commission didn't just bay for the blood of the oppressors, it gave them the opportunity to assuage their guilt by confession, contrition and asking for forgiveness. We will NEVER persuade the opposition to change by just adopting stubborn resolute in your face tactics. We have to ensure that they'll come to the table. if we're standing there, brandishing whips to just flagellate them into submission, they'll walk away. That will do us no good. Take care, n Weed <weedlets@...> wrote: JB, With all due respect, and I do appreciate all your efforts on behalf of our children, I do have a slight problem with the statement below:"Unlike many of us, myself included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and sometimes operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline, and the ability to see the world from the "other side's" point

of view"…In the civil rights movement, I do not think their strategy for a minute was to get into the "white man's shoes"? The Civil Rights leaders were indeed diplomatic and patient, but there was no room for gray area. The issue in the movement was clearly black and white. The Civil Rights leaders had the establishment sit at THEIR table, forced them to walk in THEIR shoes, to see the world from THEIR point of view. If the CR leaders would have compromised, all they would have been granted is a seat near the front of the bus! The CAA hasn't even granted our children that honor! Let us never forget the cast of characters, who we are compromising (our children's fate to) and dealing with here. Those in congress who in my opinion, work undercover for pHARMa; 1. SANTORUM, who got busted for his actions by Imus, and publicly spanked by Diedre,2. ENZI, Who worked to get S-3 passed, and also failed to

followed up on the Special Counsel's call for an urgent investigation into the use of mercury in vaccines (Office of the Special Counsel letter). 3. FRIST, who proudly held the torch high for pHARMa against our children, and was corrupt enough to author the words in the Eli Lilly Rider, which was slipped in the Homeland Security Act. The Homeland Security debacle was the very last assignment for Dick Armey on his way OUT of office (the provision/ rider came directly from his office with his name and bar code across the bottom). Who knows what tricks Frist has up his sleeves as his grand finale. Frist will undoubtedly be granting last minute pHARMa favors to his buddies and will never be held accountable for his actions.What we all are trying to accomplish here is to expose the horrific TRUTH that our children are suffering from mercury poisoning, and get them the medical help they desperately and

deservedly need. They fell victim the moment their delicate skin was pierced and the poison flowed into their tiny vulnerable bodies. It is our moral obligation to society and to our children to make that message as CLEAR and CONCISE as we possibly can! To dilute the issue and allow the "establishment" to cover-up this fact, so we can obtain a coveted seat at THEIR table, is self serving and will never benefit the needs of our mercury poisoned children!We must NEVER lose sight of how our innocent children were maimed, and we must NEVER justify a weak position that barely gets recognition of what truly happened to them!We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell me "where it hurts", her voice stolen by the insidious poison injected into her. It is for HER I

fight this fight, I will never compromise my position for some "suit" suspiciously wearing a puzzle pin on his lapel. The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their cause NOT compromise it!Working on behalf of my little hero, Lanier. Weed>> While I'm at it, I wanted to say that Mark Blaxill is one of my true > heroes.> > Aside from being one of the smartest people I have ever met, Mark > has our kid's interests as his only M.O. Unlike many of us, myself > included, he has chosen to engage with the other side to try and > make things happen. This requires diplomacy, patience, and sometimes > operating in a more gray world. It requires maturity, discipline, > and the ability to see the

world from the "other side's" point of > view.> > Mark and SafeMinds have been instrumental in making some of the most > important science in our community happen. They are a buffer that > allows folks like me to scream from the rooftops while they do the > dirty work of pushing the rock slowly up the hill through our > scientific establishment. They have worked behind the scenes and put > untold hours into our cause which most of us will never know about.> > To spend time questioning the motivations of Mark or any other > member of our community serves no productive purpose and is wholly > misguided, in my opinion.> > Hats off to you, Mark, and the whole SafeMinds team. We're lucky we > have you.> > JB>

Get your email and more, right on the new .com

[Guest guest]

Sooner or later EVERY single organization or group fighting for a cause has resolved their dispute at the NEGOTIATION TABLE NO, NONE, NEVER EVER, has ANY dispute ever been won out of the barrel of a gun or by intimidation. The IRA in Ireland, the Mow Mow in Kenya ,ANC in South Africa just a few examples all achieved their goals at the table. Again I iterate, we don't have to compromise on the substance only in how we achieve the goal. Take care nRmoffi@... wrote: Weed wrote so eloquently: "We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell me "where it hurts", her voice stolen by the insidious poison injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never compromise my position for some "suit" suspiciously wearing a puzzle pin on his lapel. The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their cause NOT compromise it!" -- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HOW FAR DO YOU THINK MOM'S

AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (MADD) WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ADVANCING THEIR CAUSE AGAINST A POWERFUL ALCHOLOL INDUSTRY IF THEY "COMPROMISED" THEIR CAUSE BY ACCEPTING LEGISLATION THAT IGNORED "ALCOLHOL" BUT PROMOTED "SAVING LIVES" INSTEAD BY IMPROVING DRIVING EDUCATION, BETTER ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC LAWS, LOWERING SPEED LIMITS, WEARING SEAT BELTS, ETC.? YES, THESE WOULD BE "GOOD" THINGS, BUT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO GET DRUNK DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THEY KILLED SOMEONE ELSE.

Get your email and more, right on the new .com

[Guest guest]

Sooner or later EVERY single organization or group fighting for a cause has resolved their dispute at the NEGOTIATION TABLE NO, NONE, NEVER EVER, has ANY dispute ever been won out of the barrel of a gun or by intimidation. The IRA in Ireland, the Mow Mow in Kenya ,ANC in South Africa just a few examples all achieved their goals at the table. Again I iterate, we don't have to compromise on the substance only in how we achieve the goal. Take care nRmoffi@... wrote: Weed wrote so eloquently: "We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year old daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell me "where it hurts", her voice stolen by the insidious poison injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never compromise my position for some "suit" suspiciously wearing a puzzle pin on his lapel. The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their cause NOT compromise it!" -- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HOW FAR DO YOU THINK MOM'S

AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (MADD) WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ADVANCING THEIR CAUSE AGAINST A POWERFUL ALCHOLOL INDUSTRY IF THEY "COMPROMISED" THEIR CAUSE BY ACCEPTING LEGISLATION THAT IGNORED "ALCOLHOL" BUT PROMOTED "SAVING LIVES" INSTEAD BY IMPROVING DRIVING EDUCATION, BETTER ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC LAWS, LOWERING SPEED LIMITS, WEARING SEAT BELTS, ETC.? YES, THESE WOULD BE "GOOD" THINGS, BUT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO GET DRUNK DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THEY KILLED SOMEONE ELSE.

Get your email and more, right on the new .com

[Guest guest]

/RMoff:

I respect the passion you both have. Look, I'm the guy who called

out the CDC in a national ad, right? But, here's a dose of reality:

- We have no science that clearly proves autism is caused by mercury

- We have no science that proves children recover from autism by

having mercury removed from their bodies

- We have no clear data today that shows that the removal of

Thimerosal has ended the autism epidemic

Do we have a bunch of science that, around the edges, points to a

link between toxicity and autism? You bet!! Have we proven it? No!

Can we? Absolutely!!

This, in my mind, is a 3 step war:

- Get Hg out of vaccines. Happening, albeit slowly. This eliminates

a primary driver of the problem

- Perfect treatment for our kids, then subject that treatment to

double-blind trials. There is one trial of chelation going on in AZ.

That's it! Where's the Methyl B12 trial? Others?

- Prove what caused autism epidemic through proper science. Guys, it

ain't ONLY the mercury. It's the whole freaking schedule. They

(vaccines and mercury) increased together, they have never been

tested as a whole schedule. Why do kids go upside-down after MMR?

This is the scary reality that makes our argument even harder to

make. Call me anti-vaccine if you want, 27 vaccines today versus 10

twenty years ago and no safety testing on the whole schedule?

The Civil Rights and MADD analogies are limited:

- Millions of Americans agreed with the civil right's movement's

position, their argument for truth, equal treatment for all did not

require scientific research and interpretation

- Same with MADD. Science was easy: Drinking and driving causes more

death

Our battle is way, way, way more complex. Many GOOD doctors and

scientists remain divided on this issue, even after reviewing ALL

the science. Do I think the science is compelling? You bet. But we

need more!! That's what SafeMinds is helping us do. Someone like

Blaxill, in the room with the GOOD scientists on the other side,

sees the limitations of our arguments.

The biggest challenge of this community is to channel the passion

and anger of what has been done to our kids into change and truth. I

believe CAA will free up dollars to do real science. Not everyone is

a Pharma apologist!! If we bring 100,000 parents to Washington, it

won't change things by itself. We need the science, too.

Thus, my belief that NAA, SM are doing the best they can in an

imperfect world, and I believe have our kids best interests at heart,

JB

>

> Weed wrote so eloquently:

>

> " We are ALL brutally reminded daily of the suffering our children

> must endure. As I sit and write this post, my beautiful 8 year

old

> daughter sleeps beside me aching with fever, unable to tell

> me " where it hurts " , her voice stolen by the insidious poison

> injected into her. It is for HER I fight this fight, I will never

> compromise my position for some " suit " suspiciously wearing a

puzzle

> pin on his lapel.

>

> The true HEROES here are our children, and we must CHAMPION their

> cause NOT compromise it! "

> -- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - -

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

> HOW FAR DO YOU THINK MOM'S AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (MADD) WOULD

HAVE GOTTEN

> ADVANCING THEIR CAUSE AGAINST A POWERFUL ALCHOLOL INDUSTRY IF

THEY

> " COMPROMISED " THEIR CAUSE BY ACCEPTING LEGISLATION THAT

IGNORED " ALCOLHOL " BUT PROMOTED

> " SAVING LIVES " INSTEAD BY IMPROVING DRIVING EDUCATION, BETTER

ENFORCEMENT OF

> TRAFFIC LAWS, LOWERING SPEED LIMITS, WEARING SEAT BELTS, ETC.?

>

> YES, THESE WOULD BE " GOOD " THINGS, BUT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE

ANYTHING TO

> GET DRUNK DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THEY KILLED SOMEONE ELSE.

>

[Guest guest]

>Do I think the science is compelling? You bet. But we

> need more!!

I too, believe the science is compelling. And because I do, I think

it a bad trade off to try to get even more science at the expense of

what is truly more lacking: political strength. More science will not

buy us much if we do not have the political strength to defend it.

That's what SafeMinds is helping us do. Someone like

> Blaxill, in the room with the GOOD scientists on the other side,

> sees the limitations of our arguments.

>

> The biggest challenge of this community is to channel the passion

> and anger of what has been done to our kids into change and truth. I

> believe CAA will free up dollars to do real science.

I see more evidence of a mercury autism connection than I see evidence

that the CAA will free up dollars to do real science.

Not everyone is

> a Pharma apologist!!

Enough of them are to render the CAA window dressing. If you have

evidence to the contrary, please share it!

If we bring 100,000 parents to Washington, it

> won't change things by itself. We need the science, too.

Like I said and like you said, the science already there is

compelling. With the science we already have, and maybe just 5,000

parents in Washington and some more in a few other places, we can

start toppling the pharma house of cards. What evidence of this do I

point to? The success we have with state legislatures and local media

outlets getting laws passed and getting the word out. The fact is,

just about all the advances we have made today for our children and

our community is the result of political advocacy and not scientific

research.

> Thus, my belief that NAA, SM are doing the best they can in an

> imperfect world, and I believe have our kids best interests at heart,

I would agree that NAA and SM have our kids best interests at heart

and that they are doing the best they can. But because they are

willing to sacrifice political growth for a dubious promise of more

science, they pursue a mistaken strategy and so serve us poorly. I

cannot help it if some feelings get hurt because I say so.

Science is not what drives these matters we address today, it's

politics. More science is always good, but if it is pursued at the

expense of politics, there will be clashes again. This can be avoided

by exposing the weakeness of the more-science-over-politics strategies

of SM, et al. before it happens again -- and let the community decide

which strategy has more merit. Like you already have the beliefs, I

believe we can convince the public that the evidence is compelling,

with what science we already have.

We already have CAN, AutismSpeakes/NAAR, the NIH and the CDC there to

going after the more-science strategy. SM and friends would do well

to instead help work filling the political vaccum by supporting the

pro-consensus group efforts. More science presumes we are battling

ignorance. Mostly, what we battle is evilness.

Finally, can the pursuit of more science and more politics be done

together? Most definitely! But it has to be more real than a

disposable cardboard consensus, and politics must be the dominant

strategy.

Lenny

[Guest guest]

All great points.

One thing perhaps to point out.

In this day and age, it is most often that politics drives the science.

That is unfortunate, but very often (and in this case) clear.

I just don't see any possibility that government scientists can be trusted to operate unbiasedly (even if they wanted to) to do good science here. The politics is too charged. The outcome has already been determined.

Think of how they absolutely hammered Wakefield for what is essentially innocent, fact-finding basic science. Whoever tells the truth here will be absolutely savaged, their career in ruins.

And the people who will be doing the work do not have any independence and can't move freely in this economy. They're boxed in, as is the science they must produce. They have a knife to their throats.

We all know what genetic autism is. It's the very rare cases of fragile X syndrome, a few even rarer forms involving defective protein synthesis, perhaps some other mechanisms. In short, these diseases are genetic because of deletions in certain genes which do not result in normal mechanisms and functions for neuronal differentiation and development.

To even posit ab initio that the mercury poisoning/immune dysregulation from the vaccine protocol that we have labeled "autism" or "regressive autism" is somehow related to a person's genes given the relatively high toxicity of the vaccine protocol and the absence of high rates of autism (or even any) in the unvaccinated is fundamentally dishonest.

Everything else is debatable. But getting the research dollars away from people who wish to rationalize an intellectual fait accompli is a very important point, even a critical feature. Trusting the same people who brought you the vaccine protocol without testing, the slight of hand epidemiology and the fundamentally dishonest IOM report in 2004 is a fool's errand. And they are one and the same, given the tremendous political pressure they have and will come under. Nothing good can come of this.

Get it away from them.

Re: Mark Blaxill

>Do I think the science is compelling? You bet. But we > need more!! I too, believe the science is compelling. And because I do, I thinkit a bad trade off to try to get even more science at the expense ofwhat is truly more lacking: political strength. More science will notbuy us much if we do not have the political strength to defend it.That's what SafeMinds is helping us do. Someone like > Blaxill, in the room with the GOOD scientists on the other side, > sees the limitations of our arguments.> > The biggest challenge of this community is to channel the passion > and anger of what has been done to our kids into change and truth. I > believe CAA will free up dollars to do real science. I see more evidence of a mercury autism connection than I see evidencethat the CAA will free up dollars to do real science. Not everyone is > a Pharma apologist!! Enough of them are to render the CAA window dressing. If you haveevidence to the contrary, please share it!If we bring 100,000 parents to Washington, it > won't change things by itself. We need the science, too.Like I said and like you said, the science already there iscompelling. With the science we already have, and maybe just 5,000parents in Washington and some more in a few other places, we canstart toppling the pharma house of cards. What evidence of this do Ipoint to? The success we have with state legislatures and local mediaoutlets getting laws passed and getting the word out. The fact is,just about all the advances we have made today for our children andour community is the result of political advocacy and not scientificresearch.> Thus, my belief that NAA, SM are doing the best they can in an > imperfect world, and I believe have our kids best interests at heart,I would agree that NAA and SM have our kids best interests at heartand that they are doing the best they can. But because they arewilling to sacrifice political growth for a dubious promise of morescience, they pursue a mistaken strategy and so serve us poorly. Icannot help it if some feelings get hurt because I say so.Science is not what drives these matters we address today, it'spolitics. More science is always good, but if it is pursued at theexpense of politics, there will be clashes again. This can be avoidedby exposing the weakeness of the more-science-over-politics strategiesof SM, et al. before it happens again -- and let the community decidewhich strategy has more merit. Like you already have the beliefs, Ibelieve we can convince the public that the evidence is compelling,with what science we already have.We already have CAN, AutismSpeakes/NAAR, the NIH and the CDC there togoing after the more-science strategy. SM and friends would do wellto instead help work filling the political vaccum by supporting thepro-consensus group efforts. More science presumes we are battlingignorance. Mostly, what we battle is evilness.Finally, can the pursuit of more science and more politics be donetogether? Most definitely! But it has to be more real than adisposable cardboard consensus, and politics must be the dominantstrategy.Lenny