Archive | January, 2008

Autisms Poor Excretors

31 Jan

Pediatrics released a study refuting the autism/thiomersal hypothesis early yesterday. They said that they did it to counter the upcoming Eli Stone pilot (of which there will be more to speak of soon). If that’s true then we need to thank the creators of Eli Stone for prompting the early release of more science debunking the anti-vaccine stance.

I don’t have this new study yet so I want you to bear in mind that I can only go on what’s in the news reports. This isn’t ideal but there are numerous quotes from the study authors over the news.

Basically, this study refutes the idea that autistic kids are poor excretors of mercury. Obviously, a lot of Hub bloggers have already taken this silliness apart but this is (IIRC) the first science paper to do so.

A proviso of this study would seem to be that it was done on NT kids rather than ASD kids but there’s no real scientifically valid reason to use ASD kids particularly anyway.

“….Now it’s obvious that ethyl mercury’s short half-life prevents toxic build-up from occurring. It’s just gone too fast,” Pichichero said.

To illustrate, researchers cite that infants in the 6-month-old group — who, in their lifetimes, had encountered more total ethyl mercury that any other group studied — still had the same pre-vaccination blood-mercury levels before their checkups as most 2-month-olds had before theirs. This suggests that, before each round of shots, the mercury has plenty of time to be cleared.

Source

Now, a group of people we all know are going to claim that the Burbacher et al showed that this was becuase the ethyl-mercury was going into the brain. This isn’t strictly accurate. Though total levels in the brain were lower for the thimerosal group, a higher ratio of inorganic mercury was noted. The anti-vaxxers tried to link this to Vargas because inorganic mercury is alleged to cause microglial activation.

But Burbacher detected no neuroinflammation. He should now know if there is neuroglial activation in his primates however. This paper was due some time ago but seems to be having trouble finding a publisher. Its pure speculation on my part that this would either be because his sponsors (SafeMinds) didn’t like the results and pulled the plug, or the science is bad and can’t find a journal to be published in.

Anyway, here’s this new paper that demonstrates that thiomersal is very quickly eliminated from the body. What is the typical mercury militia response to this?

And if it’s not thimerosal, then it must be some other vaccine-related interaction, said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center.

……

“Mercury doesn’t belong in any product,” Fisher added. “Mercury doesn’t belong in vaccines whether it’s proven or not proven that mercury is a problem in vaccines.”

You see? Its not even really about mercury to these geniuses. Its about vaccines. Always. Even when it isn’t. And when it is mercury it doesn’t matter if its actually dangerous or not. What a shame there’s no vaccine for stupidity.

Note: Bart Cubbins has done an excellent video on some of the shortcomings of the Burbacher study.

Ah, what the hell

30 Jan

It may be temporary, it may be less frequently updated but for now you can consider LB/RB open for business.

EDIT:

When I closed in October 2007 (well spotted Kristjan!) I got literally inundated with email expressing sorrow, frustration, remonstration that I was giving in and lots of warm wishes. I hope I managed to reply to everyone, if I didn’t then I apologise but it was (if you’ll excuse the self-referencing humour) manic. The day after I shut, I woke up to find GMail reporting 76 unread emails.

I was taken aback at how strongly people felt and immediately began to feel a bit guilty but I was convinced I was right to do it and I’m still not unconvinced 100%. I cannot let my kids become targets.

However, a few weeks ago a friend of mine who lives in the same town I do and who is also a manic depressive took it upon himself to become my ‘protector’ and started posting under a pseudonym to various blogs hostile to the stance of mine. Even now I still don’t know how many blogs he posted on. But anyway – the point of me telling you this was that it immediately started up again from ‘certain quarters’ (no prizes for guessing and no need to mention the blog or name in question) and I realised that it didn’t really matter if I was posting or not – it was still going to carry on.

With that in mind, the biggest reason for stopping seemed a bit pointless.

However, I’ll be honest, I’ve enjoyed not blogging. I won’t ever again get so caught up in it. It was nice to sit down and read a book for pleasure after the girls were in bed and so I intend to not lose that. It was nice not to have endless blah-blah wars with Brad Handley running into gajillions of comments so I’m going to be applying a very simple rule to comments: if they annoy me in any way I will simply delete them. If anyone doesn’t like that then boo-hoo. Get your own blog. My priority in doing this is my own peace of mind.

No more family mentions at all. Pics of the kids have been removed from Flickr. The videos of them are gone from YouTube. That’s a high price to pay, especially considering that one of those videos did one of the best things I could imagine – reached a man in need and helped him.

I’ve had a few questions reach me since yesterday. I’ll deal with them here:

1) What about the Group blogging?
Amanda (who is unavailable right now) has set up a fantastic resource called GreyMatter/White Matter which has all the LB/RB team bloggers on it. I am more than happy for bloggers to post here again if they want to but I would like to talk to Amanda first as GM/WM is her project.

2) Might you shut again soon?
I might, yeah. I really don’t know. I don’t want to. I enjoy writing and this grand old lady has been around for five years now but I have to have a bit of perspective. Its not up to me fight every battle going. Family, health, peace of mind, meals, then blogging.

So – lets get to it 🙂

From Mike McCarron to the Autism Hub

27 Jan

What follows is the text of an open letter, Mike McCarron, grandpa of Katie McCarron wishes to pass on to Autism Hub members.

An open letter to members of the Autism Hub.

I wish to thank each of you for your words; both about Katie and about people with special needs in general. In a world where differences easily become reasons to devalue people, your words have always conveyed respect, dignity and love for those with special needs.

I know that each of you from time to time question if you should express yourself and wonder if you are making a difference. Your opinions and descriptions of your travels in life have made a big difference to one grandfather and I suspect to many other parents.

In the days following my granddaughter’s death I was very upset. As I read comments from autism “advocates”, I moved from upset into anger. Many wanted to twist what happened to fit into their own agendas. All of you know the dialogue. I began to feel that all reason and common decency had been beaten out of society and replaced with hysterical and illogical screaming. Every time I would read some “advocate” say they could understand how a person could kill a child with autism I would bristle and await their self serving monologue of martyrdom. I even viewed a film clip that turned my stomach but it was receiving wide acclaim.

Then I encountered a different film, one of a little girl bouncing on a trampoline and I met Kevin. Next I found Kristina and the rest of your sites followed at different times mostly by reference from one of these two. During the extremely long trial process of twenty months I have visited your sites, some almost daily. Sometimes I would comment under a pseudonym but most of the time I just read and drew strength from your thoughts and your love. My interest in your posts varied by topic but I was always gratified and reassured by the love you expressed for your children and the respect shown for all people with differences.

I have had the pleasure of meeting some of you in person, I have corresponded with some of you, and still others I know only through your words on the internet. But words are so vitally important. The words used by some are frightening, intended solely for shock value, but are very divisive in the long term. Every time an “advocate” classifies autism as a fate worse than death they not only display the weakness of their own mind, but they do a terrible disservice to every autistic person. Your words and posts, firmly grounded in respect and love, foster the understanding needed for social movement toward improvement.

I sincerely hope that parents new to the autism community encounter the hub and your sites long before visiting many others. I find it strange to recommend sites that value human dignity; every site should, but too many don’t. That is what makes your sites so valuable. It seems that autism falls prey to every kind of con artist, they need to be exposed. It also seems that anything can be said about people with autism if the person saying it claims it was done to create awareness, they need to be set straight. Please continue to lead by example, do it as time permits but do what you can and what you already do so very well.

Sincerely,

Mike McCarron

Justice

18 Jan

Yesterday, the 12 jurors of Tazewell County returned a guilty verdict on all counts to the murderer of Katie McCarron.

Happiness is the wrong word for how I feel about this. I am glad for the McCarron’s that this aspect of their association with Karen McCarron is over and I am relieved that the jurors were so emphatic in their deliberations. One of the jurors, RH, commented on the trial at Kristina’s blog:

As a juror on the trial, I can say it was an exhausting, emotional, and mentally draining trial. In the end, the evidence was clar and the defense did virtually nothing to convince us that she was either insane or impaired by her depression, certainly not enough to warrant killing a child. A terrible tragedy on all fronts, but I left that trial knowing we made the right decision, and now hope the family can move on the best they can in the next phase of their lives.

We all hope that. It’s nigh on impossible to really know just how painful and draining this has been for the McCarron’s. All I can do is imagine (or try not to) how I would feel if one of my kids died. Hopefully, this day can be the first for along time that they can operate in a world that they know is free of their granddaughters killer and can know that justice for Katie has been done.

Paul made a public statement after the verdict:

If the measure of a person’s life could be quantified by the number of people that loved them, then Katie, in her brief 3 1/2 years, achieved well beyond all of us.

I’d like to recognize the tireless efforts and personal sacrifices of the States Attorney’s Office, specifically Kirk Schoenbein and Kevin Johnson, and the Morton Police Department, specifically Ray Ham and Bill Roth, for the relentless pursuit of the truth and justice. We are blessed to have these caring and professional people in our community.

I’d like to thank all the people that worked with Katie. Specifically, Kia Quick and Stephanie Blair—your ability to make Katie smile while you taught her is a testament to your talent and love.

I ask all parents and especially those of children with disabilities to ALWAYS love your children and be proud of them. Cherish every moment you have with them. Love, patience and tender efforts are the best therapies.

Speaking as the parent of an autistic child myself, I am also very grateful that the afore mentioned teachers, attorneys and police personnel were on hand to do right by Katie. It gives me hope in the idea that diversity can be respected and that crimes against people who are disabled are seen as exactly that, crimes. No watered down investigating and prosecuting because the victim was autistic.

I would remind people of the words Paul closed with ‘Love, patience and tender efforts are the best therapies’. Katie’s mum was part of a group that didn’t think that was so. They, Sue Grimm from ANSWERS, Erik Nanstiel and David Ayoub from Fair Autism Media amongst others, felt that Karen was a loving mum. David Ayoub attended Katie’s visitation and met a reporter there to expound on his vaccine hypothesis, describing Karen as ‘one of the most loving mom’s’ within a few feet of Katie’s body. Erik Nanstiel was considering inviting Karen to become a member of FAM. Sue Grimm testified on Karen’s behalf.

Justice has been done for Katie despite the best efforts of such persons. I hope that they can find some way to live with themselves and what they contributed to (not that I suggesting they played any role in Katie’s murder, that was all Karen). I hope they can stop the relentless mad drive to fix ‘imperfection’.

Raise the love, value patience. The life of Katie McCarron deserves no less.

Elsewhere

Dear Katie

16 Jan

As I write this, your Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt are striving to bring you some justice. I don’t know yet what the jury will decide and I can only guess what trickery those who did you wrong may employ to wriggle out of their responsibilities.

However, I wanted to write you this letter as it occurred to me that although your picture sits on the bookshelf of our home, next to the photos of my own autistic daughter and although I have written about you from time to time I have never addressed a letter to you.

I wanted to tell you dear that I am so awfully sorry that I never got to meet you. Your Dad and your Grandpa came to see us and brought us some lovely photos of you. In all of them you were smiling and in all of them the adult with you – your Grandma, Grandpa or Dad – were smiling proudly. I can understand that Katie. You were obviously a little girl who anybody could be proud of. I hope to one day be able to tell you that when I can come and visit you where you’re resting now.

I also want you to know that your Daddy, your Grandma, your Grandpa, your Aunt and your Uncle and lots of your teachers spoke up for you sweetheart. They stood up to be counted and said that you were loved – adored – that the fact you were autistic should not ever be used as a justifiable reason for hurting anyone. They told the world what you were like. They wore pink ribbons to show the world that you were remembered. I wore my own pink ribbon everyday too.

One night, my own autistic little girl woke up about 3ish and we sat and I told her about you and about how much you were loved and how brave and steadfast your Daddy and your Grandma and your Grandpa were. Her favourite picture of you is the one where you are sitting on your Grandpa’s lap. I think it is her favourite as she remembers sitting on his lap when he and your Daddy came to visit. You are both little girls who see the purpose of a Grandpa!

Your Daddy is a hero Katie. A man who will not ever stop fighting for the rights of his daughter. A man who has stood opposite the person who wronged you so viciously, looked that person in the eye and remained dignified and composed. A man who has been buffeted from all sides and who simply misses his little girl and wants to do right by her. Your Daddy called me ‘pal’ and hugged me when he came over to see us. I am proud to be thought of as a friend by such a fine man as your Daddy.

The real tragedy is that any of this happened at all. There are no excuses for what was done to you. Whatever the verdict comes back as, the truth is that you were betrayed and snatched away from those who loved you. Those who wronged you – those with no answers – still try to wrong you. They blame vaccines. They blame autism. They blame mental illness. They look everywhere to place blame except where it deserves to be placed. In doing this they seek to cheapen and diminish the enormity of what was done to you. Your family will not let them.

Take care dear. I hope very much that one day I will be able to say some of this to you. I will bring you a toy from my girls and tie some pink ribbon around it. Until then please rest in the peace you so richly deserve. Your family continue to light a candle for your darkness.

Please Note: There is a living memorial for Katie should anyone wish to contribute.