(Hell no, there is not. Thanks JohnD. - promoted by Charley on the MTA)
Is there a link?
We've all heard the stories before of people blaming their child's autism on vaccines. And yet there have been numerous reports by reputable sources that there is NO LINK between them.
example -
The CDC disputes a connection between the vaccine and autism, saying, "The causes of autism are unknown in most cases."
The government agency's website states: "In a few cases, biologic causes have been identified, although none are unique to autism. ... The current theory favored by many experts is that autism is a genetically-based disorder that occurs before birth."
A major British medical journal on Tuesday retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease.
There have also been many scientific studies showing a genetic link for the disease as well, and not to vaccines. I have heard of these contrarian studies for years, believed them and have spoken to some parents with effected children, but they refuse to believe otherwise.
I am lucky enough to not have children suffering from autism, but I also believe that we waste money when we try to cure something and go in the "wrong" direction. Of course we must be sensitive to the parents of these kids since their angst against vaccines may have been founded on "science" such as this study from The Lancet. We also have many cases of practicing Doctors who claim and tell their patients that vaccines are a cause of Autism.
But in order to focus our resources, I would suggest that the CDC with cooperation from HHS Secretary Sebelius hold a news conference and discuss this openly. Let's get our resources focused and let's help parents understand the problem. Vaccines are not perfect but I do not believe they are as dangerous as some people argue. There will be reactions, sometimes fatal, to vaccines but never coming close to the morality and/or morbidity of the disease which these vaccines protect against.
From stomv, in response to the jconway's contention: "I have had four years of great plans and rhetoric from patrick and four years of him not delivering. Just saying."
Executive orders require purchasing of "most efficient" vehicles for gov't, as well as efficient use.
Green Communities Act.
Stretch Code.
RPS standards among the best in the nation.
Why, just last week they announced they'd used $185M in stimulus funds to leverage $800M worth of energy upgrades to water waste processing facilities around the state -- everything from switching to VFD motors to installing solar and wind generation on-site. At least one of the facilities will become a net-zero facility w.r.t. energy.
"Swap" deal with CSXT for the Boston to Worcester line, allowing for more commuter runs west and, eventually, to the south shore as well.
MassDOT, which gives the MBTA a fighting chance.
Bike lanes on bridges formerly controlled by DCR.
He hasn't been perfect, and he doesn't get sole credit for any of these, as no governor is an island. At the same time, he deserves tremendous credit for all of these things, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few. On other issues progress has been slower, but frankly Deval Patrick joins Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Bloomberg as the top three executives who've pushed hardest and accomplished most on green issues. A second (or third!) term allows for keeping the momentum getting even more done by moving "normal".
SAINTS WIN!!! Congratulations New Orleans!! - promoted by David)
What's everyone doing today? On Christmas I started a Christmas Day open thread. Among other things, I wanted to give people who don't "do" Christmas achance to talk about the challenges of not celebrating.
Is Super Bowl the same? Eight years ago, when the Pats were first in the Super Bowl, I went to a caucus that was inadvertently scheduled in conflict with the beginning of Super Bowl. Then I went to a Super Bowl where they took a straw poll on Governor and Steve Grossman won. Yes, I know, I am a political junkie.
Well I'm not much of a football fan and I think that it is similar to people sitting around on Christmas Day. I can't make a phone call inviting someone to a caucus or the Howard Dean event with Steve Grossman, because of the Super Bowl.
So use the Open Thread to talk about the game, why is Grace running, why Martha lost or whatever you choose.
(Charlie Baker's dignity: For Sale Cheep. - promoted by Charley on the MTA)
For an accomplished resume creator, Charles Baker sure can dissemble with the best of them: in fact Baker has already set a new standard for profiles in leadership, candor and courage with his absurd comments about global warming. Charles Baker's website boasts of his achievements and academic credentials: not only has he had a lot of fancy jobs with important titles but Charlie, as his web site would have us call him, also attended Harvard and Northwestern University. Fortunately, Baker is happy to let us know that all that learning did not rub off on him as we learned this week when the boy-wonder finally addressed the issue of global warming.
"And, of course, Edwards has no remorse. Today, he called ABC to see if he could be the next 'Bachelor.'" -Jay Leno
"Everybody's talking about the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. Admiral Mike Mullen said it's wrong to force people to lie about who they are in order to serve their country. Then Congress was like: 'Who cares? We do that every election.'" -Jimmy Fallon
"Oh, here's something interesting and important. The Pentagon now wants to allow gays to serve openly in the military. You know what that means, ladies and gentlemen? More parades." -David Letterman
"They're now coming out with the new, 75th edition of Monopoly, this time with a round board. No more square boards. And actually, they've updated the whole game. In the new version, the banker is a Wall Street CEO He overextends mortgages, he loses the bank, and when things go under, he uses his get-out-of-jail-for-free card. So it's all very realistic." -Jay Leno
David Letterman's Top Ten Surprises In The $3.8 Trillion Federal Budget
9. President now has to pay $25 for each bag he brings aboard Air Force One
3. Don't tell him, it's a surprise, but McCain's getting a new Craftmatic Adjustable Bed
1. The naked centerfold of Sen.-elect Scott Brown
(This would be hilarious, if it weren't such an accurate sample of what seems very likely to be coming down the pike. (Get it? The Pike? Oh, I slay myself.) See also Joan Vennochi's excellent column today on a related subject. - promoted by David)
In a recent interview with Fox25, Charlie Baker makes the unbelievable claim that Mitt Romney left office with a massive $5 billion surplus - which he asserts was then squandered by the Patrick Administration.
Like Brett Favre deep in the playoffs, Baker recklessly chucks it out there, praying that no one from the opposing team picks apart his figures. Fox gives Baker a total pass, and he almost gets away with his Hail Mary scott free on a Friday.
Fortunately for truth-seekers everywhere, the Globe's Adrian Walker challenges Baker's claim and cries foul on his "cooked up" figure. Even the conservative Mass Taxpayers Foundation is baffled by Baker and points out that there was actually no surplus after Romney left.
Yup, that's budget wonk Charlie Baker off by a whopping $5 Billion. Baker is running for governor on a platform of being honest about the budget but his budget history wouldn't last five minutes on Wikipedia.
I guess Baker won't be running his campaign on honesty after all. Any guess what his next focus might be? Preventing climate change?
"What do I want? Well, I want it all to stop," she said late Thursday night from the floor of the National Tea Party Convention, an event billed as the first major conference for the conservative movement currently reshaping America's political landscape. "Our way of life is under attack. I truly believe they are trying to destroy this country. It's just hard to say who 'they' is."
and
"You took the radicals out of the '60s. They came into our colleges, they became teachers and they began to teach our children," said Alice Moore, 69, who got her start in political activism fighting against what she deemed inappropriate textbooks in her West Virginia town.
"The indoctrination of kids for 35 years or longer, this is what led us to the election of this president. It is why we're here," Moore said.
and
Some advocates want to require citizens to pass a civics test before being allowed to vote, a proposal reminiscent of the Jim Crow laws used to keep blacks away from the voting booth.
Former Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, the convention's opening speaker, raised the issue to enthusiastic applause.
"People who could not spell the word 'vote' or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House -- name is Barack Hussein Obama," Tancredo said.
If you are not watching C-Span right now, I urge you to do so and see the Tea Party convention live and unfiltered. This is what we are up against in the next few elections, and it behooves us to take note of what they are saying and what their strategies and tactics are and will be.
The head housekeeper was hired away from Hilton. It is a big and complicated job
Q. What is your mission?
A. The MBL Office of Housing and Conferences maintains a variety of comfortable, attractive, and affordable housing units for students, faculty, and scientists involved in our research and educational programs. Our main mission is to maximize all of our housing options to ensure we meet the needs of our visitors and the goals of MBL.
Q. How are you getting ready for the MBL's influx of spring and summer visitors?
A. We are processing applications, setting up rates, updating literature, and, on the housekeeping end, prepping cottages, dorms, apartments, and other housing facilities. Though there are only 800 beds available, the projected number of guests who will stay in MBL housing this spring/summer is more than 2,000! That is a lot of housing to coordinate, beds to prepare, and cars to park.
Some of these housekeeprs have been involved in supporting the Marine Lab housing and accommodations for 25 years, and are in their sixties near retirement.
Like the Hyattthese were long term employees, earning decent wages of $12-$20 per hour. Woods Hole is seeking to outsource to an itinerant workforce and a company entangled in allegations of wage and hour violations.
See for example Moua v Jani-King, Snookes v. Janiking and I could go on and on. This francised, minimum wage outfit seems to pay only minimum wages, use revolving door employees, and get in trouble for skirting wage and hour laws. Jani-King googles as having pages of problems, frankly.
Where the sudden termination of permanent, experienced employees at Wood Hole lab is different from Hyatt, though, is that Woods Hole just received large amounts of taxpayer dollars, including 10 million in stimulus money.
My name is Suzanne Bump and I'm a candidate for State Auditor in Massachusetts. I'd like to begin what I hope will be an ongoing dialogue here at BMG.
Recent election results are proof that Massachusetts voters are looking for more from their government and elected leaders - and who can blame them? The economy is recovering at a snail's pace, there's not enough money in the state budget for what we have to do (never mind what we want to do), and partisan feelings are running very high. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a terrible time to be in public service or a tremendous opportunity to restore common sense to our government.
The Auditor must be at the center of smart government. As the person responsible for making sure that taxpayer dollars are used legally and wisely, it is the Auditor's duty to root our theft and waste. In times like these, we also need to provide more value to the taxpayer. Performance audits can help streamline and consolidate state government by instituting best practices and new money-saving strategies. It is precisely during tough economic times when state government should be doing more for people, not less - and it's the Auditor's job to figure out how.
I believe that government can create individual and economic opportunity, but only if it is both responsive and responsible. Too often we interpret people's frustration as a general distrust of government, instead of genuine concerns over poor stewardship of resources. An independent voice in the Auditor's office is essential to restoring public trust and ensuring the best government possible for the people of the Commonwealth. That's the kind of leader I have been, and that's the kind of leader I will be as your next State Auditor.
I hope you'll take a moment to consider my candidacy. You can find more information about my background and my campaign at www.SuzanneBump.com, or on Facebook and Twitter (@Bump4Auditor). I also want to hear your ideas about what the Auditor can do to make government work better!
The following candidates have submitted letters of intent to seek the nomination of the Massachusetts Democratic Party at the 2010 Democratic State Convention in Worcester:
Yesterday, was the deadline for these letters, but a candidate can also get 500 delegate signatures like Chris Gabrieli did in 2006. I have included links if I know them.
A few weeks ago, I went on WGBH to go tete-a-tete with John O'Hara, author of The New American Tea Party. O'Hara disputed the notion that Tea Partiers are remotely extremist.
Hmmm ... well, let's take a look at the schedule of events at their convention, shall we?
Moore was also a notable opponent of a proposed amendment to the Alabama constitution in 2004. Known as Amendment 2, the proposed legislation would have removed wording from the state constitution that referred to poll taxes and required separate schools for "white and colored children," a practice already outlawed due to civil rights-era legislation.
Hmm. Sounds pretty mainstream!
And then there's the topic, “Correlations between the current Administration and Marxist Dictators of Latin America”, tomorrow am! Awesome. Let the chalk dust fly!
Something that's important and interesting from the schedule is that the Tea Party folks are taking neighbor-to-neighbor, ward-and-precinct organizing seriously. This is how Obama won; this is how Deval Patrick won; this is how the Dems usually dominate Masssachusetts; this is how one wins elections. No matter how daffy the ideas, people will generally believe what their trusted friends and neighbors tell them.
Their ideas invite, and require, mockery. But as a political force, the Tea Party is indeed to be taken very, very seriously.
You know ... next time someone complains about how messed up our political culture is, just ... point westward. This is an instant classic ... of sorts; the single most inexplicable political ad I've heard of. Hilarious. Nightmarish. It's all that.
This comment got me thinking about what's really at issue in the ongoing discussions about Citizens United.
I'm still trying to figure out...
...how "corporate personhood" is an issue. The 1st amendment says "Congress shall make no law...abridging freedom of speech". It does not say "Congress shall make no law abridging A PERSON'S freedom of speech."
At a literal level, that's quite right. The First Amendment doesn't specifically include or exclude particular types or categories of speakers from its protection.
But if you think about it, the comment is an excellent exercise in question-begging. Why?
OFA-MA Director John Spears on Republicans Turning to Wall Street to Fund Campaigns (email today, no link).
John Spears, Organizing for America (OFA)-MA State Director, issued the following statement in response to today's Wall Street Journal article reporting that Republicans are turning to Wall Street to help fund 2010 campaigns:
"The news today that Republicans are training their sights on Wall Street is both troubling-and motivating. While all Americans should be concerned by elected leaders looking to Wall Street banks to help fund their campaigns, OFA supporters in particular should see this strategy as yet another reason to continue our work in support of financial reform.
If Mr. Sears is really so concerned about politicians who take money from Wall Street, he may be working for the wrong employer. As Michael Moore pointed out last fall on The Colbert Report, Goldman Sachs was President Obama's #1 private contributor. The WSJ article makes a similar observation. Politifact spells it out:
Obama made a big deal during the election that he didn't accept money from federal political action committees or lobbyists.
But laws require individuals to disclose their occupation and their employer when they donate to federal political candidates. We checked with the Center for Responsive Politics, a well-respected nonpartisan group that specializes in analyzing campaign data. Their numbers include contributions from employees and their immediate families.
Their analysis of the 2008 presidential campaign found that University of California employees were Obama's top donor, giving a collective $1.6 million. That system is run by the state of California, and hence is a public employer.
No. 2 was Goldman Sachs. Goldman employees gave Obama $994,795.
Obama's next biggest donors were the employees of Harvard University, Microsoft, Google, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Time Warner, the law firm Sidley Austin, and Stanford University. View Obama's complete list and amounts here. Incidentally, Goldman Sachs ranked No.4 on John McCain's list of employee contributions, at $230,095.
Moore said that Goldman Sachs is Obama's "No. 1 private contributor." The data shows that is correct. We rate his statement True.
I'm all for the President's new enthusiasm for clamping down on Wall Street (even though his "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" didn't come in time to save A. G. Coakley) but it is foolish for OfA to frame its campaign in this way. They should focus on advancing substantive financial reform legislation, not taking hypocritical potshots like this at their political opponents.
Adam Reilly's got a great article about the power -- and ubiquity -- of conservative talk radio, yes ... even in Massachusetts. He correctly faults Candidate Coakley for not bothering to show up and call in to these stations, thus giving herself an opportunity to explain herself, and blunt or divert criticism. (Call this "Massachusetts-specific contigency" #53,006.)
Look, I've been on Graham's show. I've been on Braude's NECN show, which is not softball BP, even for libs. Hey, it's challenging. But you know what? It's fun. It forces a discipline of making your point forcefully and economically -- before the commercial break. I mean ... if you can't do that, you just shouldn't be in politics, IMO. It's not some kind of ancillary skill -- it's one of the most important for a candidate.
And when you're the governor or US Representative, the host is more likely to treat you with a modicum of respect than some blogger.
And if Dennis and Callahan (or whomever) say no, they're "not interested" in having you? Put that out in public! "Talk Show Hosts XYZ Afraid Bill Democrat Will Eat Their Lunch On Air".
After countless bureaucratic skirmishes and nearly a decade, Cape Wind supporters are hopeful the project is nearing final approval. Last month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would make a final decision on America's first offshore wind farm by April, and labor activists and environmentalists are calling on him to ok what would be one of the largest wind-energy projects in the country.
