JAMA Pediatrics published a new study today looking at vaccination rates. The results of that study are making headlines throughout the "mainstream" media outlets, but none of them have headlines like ours. Yet, ours is probably the most factual headline representing the true facts of what this study found. The title of the study is: A Population-Based Cohort Study of Undervaccination in 8 Managed Care Organizations Across the United States - You can read the abstract here. Rather than rely upon the press releases of the study which for the most part were bemoaning the fact that children were not following the national vaccine schedule and therefore representing a threat to the existence of the human race, I decided to spend the $30.00 and download the article to read for myself. First of all, let's look at the objective to the study as stated in the abstract: To examine patterns and trends of undervaccination in children aged 2 to 24 months and to compare health care utilization rates between undervaccinated and age-appropriately vaccinated children. So why study "patterns and trends of undervaccination" in children? The introduction to the study gives us a clue: Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the past 100 years. However, an increasing number of parents have expressed concerns about immunizations, and survey data1-5 have shown that more than 10% of parents report delaying or refusing certain vaccinations for their children. These concerned parents often request alternative vaccination schedules that either increase the time between vaccinations or reduce the number of vaccinations in a single well-child visit. Despite their concerns, however, the safety of alternative vaccination schedules is not known. Hmm... Any chance of bias in this study? Is "Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the past 100 years" a scientific statement that can be proven by facts and figures? Is there a chance that this study was conducted because the medical institutions represented by the authors of this study do not like the fact that parents are not bringing in their children to be vaccinated enough according to the government vaccine schedule?

The flu is not the only highly contagious disease raging this winter. A new strain of norovirus is causing intestinal illness outbreaks across the country, the CDC confirmed today. Norovirus is often to blame when large numbers of people get sick on cruise ships or in schools, nursing homes, and other places where people live, work, or play in close quarters. CDC officials also reported a rise in outbreaks of sickness caused by drinking raw milk.The findings appear in the Jan. 25 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. New Norovirus Spread Quickly The new norovirus strain was first identified in Australia in March of last year, and it had spread across the United States by year's end. Of the 266 norovirus outbreaks reported during the last four months of 2012, 141 involved the Australian strain. During this time, outbreaks caused by it rose from 19% to 58%. Sickness from norovirus is often called "food poisoning," but the highly contagious virus can also be spread by water, person-to-person contact, or simply by touching an infected object. Outbreaks can happen anytime, but they are most common in the winter months.

In an effort to create the "Super Soldier," the U.S. military spends hundreds of millions of dollars on psychiatric research programs that can only be described as science fiction-esque experimentation. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a mental health watchdog group, is dedicated to exposing these mental health abuses. It's no secret that the nation's military forces long have been used as guinea pigs for psychological and pharmaceutical experiments. Recent history is littered with examples of the botched experiments brought to light in the form of lawsuits and congressional investigations. As for the troops, well, it appears they truly are expendable. The military is spending billions of dollars on psychiatric drugs; a Nextgov investigation published on May 17, 2012 uncovered the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs having spent nearly $2 billion on antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs over the past decade, and the Dec. 29. 2012 Austin American-Statesman article, "Soaring cost of military drugs could hurt budget," quoted Department of Defense spending of $2.7 billion on antidepressants, totaling more than $4.5 billion in the last decade, despite more than 170 warnings issued by international drug regulatory agencies warning of drug induced suicide, violence, mania, psychosis, aggression, hallucinations, death and much more. The U.S. Military's Central Command policy even allows a 90-180 day supply of highly addictive psychiatric drugs before deployment. There is also Seroquel, or "Serokill," as it now is referred to, which is not permitted for treatment of deploying troops with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but, rather, is prescribed off-label to treat insomnia. The fact that "Serokill" is still in the military's formulary becomes more bizarre when one considers that the antipsychotic has been suspected of being linked to hundreds of "sudden cardiac deaths" among returning soldiers. Yet, in desperation, top brass are continuing to turn to psychiatrists and psychologists who apparently have seen way too many sci-fi movies and seem ready "to go where no man has gone before," when it comes to altering the human mind. But when one becomes fully aware of the planned and on-going experiments, the famous line from The Fly comes to mind: "Heeeeelp meeeee!"

Liars, Gun Control and Money in a Culture of Violence1 Load up on guns, bring your friends It's fun to lose and to pretend She's overboard and self-assured Oh, no, I know a dirty word 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - Kurt Cobain2 Gun control is a hot topic right now. As usual, COINTELPRO is in full force trying to control and define the debate within the narrowest possible field, limiting the questions people ask and presenting loud and obnoxious pundits who are supposed to represent "the people." We doubt the people are this mentally backwards. Gun and weapon control has a long and illustrious3 history. It has never led to any tangible results. Murders are just as prevalent, if not more, than at any other time in history (rates of murder and violence tend to rise and fall throughout history4). If history is taken as a lesson, reliance on gun control in the forms of registration of ownership and limiting of the types of arms and ammunitions, has caused more deaths than it has ever prevented. People are focused on the now. The collective memory of a civilization is very short. I have heard the number 3 years suggested as the average duration of recall for the ordinary person; sometimes it is more, sometimes less. I really don't know. I only know that it is shorter than it should be. Each successive generation appears to feel as if they have moved beyond the influence of the problems of their forebears in a poorly defined and mentally retarded concept called 'progress'5. There is no such thing as progress. Man is a bit like a hamster in a cage; eventually he always comes full circle.6 No matter how hard he runs, he's never going to get anywhere until he learns to step off the damned wheel. It's the same dance, just a different tune.