The dangerous fantasy that vaccines cause autism has infected communities across the world and contributed to a resurgence of formerly rare diseases. Data collected by the CFR since 2008 shows a growth in reported cases of measles in the UK and whooping cough in the US. This includes a 20-year high of 2,000 measles cases in the UK and a eye-popping 15,000 French cases in 2011. Due to a fraudulent 1994 study, many believe the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine can cause autism in young children, a toxic viewpoint has been championed by current “The View” co-host Jenny McCarthy. Looking at the map, we should be working to improve vaccination rates in India and Africa instead of weakening herd immunity in America and Europe.
Category Archives: Arsenal Pulse
One heartbeat away
In 2008, John McCain picked the person who said this today on the Crimea crisis, to be his next-in-line as president of the United States: “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke.”
Let’s just take a moment to give silent thanks that we don’t live in the other universe, where that ticket won.
One cold night in 1987
This month in history — twenty seven years ago: In March 1987, an HIV-positive Congressman slept outside the Capitol to protest inaction on homelessness. It was 20 degrees outside. He contracted fatal pneumonia, likely in part from his immuno-compromised state being exacerbated in the cold. But before it claimed his life, he managed to convince his colleagues to pass legislation with over a billion dollars in funding for over a dozen new programs to help the homeless. This past week, Think Progress commemorated the sacrifice of Rep. Stewart McKinney of Connecticut.
The world’s oldest refugee
Credit: The Globalist
She is a 107-year-old refugee of the Syrian civil war. She is quite likely the world’s oldest refugee. She now lives precariously in Greece. Sabria would like to be reunited with her family in Germany. This seemingly easy feat, however, is being frustrated by EU immigration policies. Please join us in urging Chancellor Angela Merkel to let Sabria into Germany.
Michele Bachmann calls American Jews sellouts
From an interview she did with SPLC-designated “hate group leader” Tony Perkins yesterday, we learned (via TPM) that
Michele Bachmann is deeply disappointed with the American Jewish community for supporting President Barack Obama, whose policies she believes will reduce Israel to “rubble.”
1. Always good to tell people in a group you aren’t part of how they should feel and whom they should support.
2. Her religious support for Israel is based upon the premise that Jesus can’t come back unless a vibrant Israel is restored…and converted to Christianity…and then destroyed by The End of The World. (Really a fair-weather kind of support, isn’t it?) So why is she complaining about Israel being reduced to “rubble”? (Also: what rubble? The settlements are bigger than ever. I know she’s talking about the Iran sanctions, but still: c’mon son.)
3. When you say AIPAC — of all possible organizations to cite — has “sold out Israel” you’re officially so far outside the mainstream you don’t even know what the concept of a stream is.
Crimea: What do you really think we can do about it?
I noticed a prominent economist tweeted this the other day, reacting to the Russian occupation of Crimea: “Obama vows no tangible help Whatever happened to Democrats like Truman and Kennedy.”
This would be Truman whose Berlin Airlift occurred in a world where the U.S. was the only nuclear-armed country… and then he managed to get us stuck in Korea. And Kennedy narrowly managed to avoid getting everyone nuked over Cuba and our interference there (including his own)… but then still got us stuck in Vietnam.
So, I don’t know, maybe Obama’s handling this crisis pretty ok?
Look, this isn’t a knock against the person who tweeted that. It’s a pretty common frustration right now. I just happened to spot that particular expression of it. It’s a tense and complicated situation over there right now. There’s probably not much we can do. The U.S. isn’t omnipotent. Nor is Russia powerless before us.
Major miscalculations and underestimations following smaller disputes a century ago this year, not far from the Black Sea, brought Europe and later the United States into the devastating first world war. Let’s not repeat that. When major powers go head to head, it’s best to err on the side of doing less rather than making a catastrophic error the world will not forgive us for. And in the nuclear age, there might not be a world left anyway, after a bad call.
Maybe it’s time to calm down a bit and not fall into The Onion’s pointed characterization: “Ukrainian-Russian Tensions Dividing U.S. Citizens Along Ignorant, Apathetic Lines”
Pres. Obama reacts to dumbest heckling yet
This is amazing. During a speech this past Friday to the Democratic National Committee, a heckler yelled “Tell us about your plans for nuclear war in Russia” and President Obama made a (very valid) face:
Yes, this is how we all react to people saying supremely foolish nonsense like that, but it’s great to see the President of the United States get to react like that, too. Here’s the full clip CNN posted:
h/t
