Second Case of Measles in Michigan This Year

This week, the second case of measles in Michigan this year was big news.  For someone who remembers when nearly everyone contracted measles at some time in his or her life, this is almost as amazing as cellphones with apps that start your car in the morning and close the garage door or adjust the thermostat from half a world away.

Measles, like mumps, is much less serious when contracted by a young child than by an adult.  Since the disease was so prevalent before the vaccination was developed in 1963, parents would send their children to visit friends who had the disease to avoid the possibility of an adult case later in life.  The relatively few adults who had never
had measles or mumps were very careful to avoid contact with anyone who might be contagious. The eradication of measles, mumps, polio and other diseases that plagued our species is due to widespread vaccination.  The rarity of measles is reflected in this table:

Now, foolish people who did not live in a time when these diseases were widespread refuse to vaccinate their children. One could almost wish that such airheads would contract one or more of the diseases that their children will risk. However, it is unlikely because they were vaccinated as children by their more responsible parents.

Please also read “Michigan in the Vaccination Toilet.”

John B. Payne, Attorney
Garrison LawHouse, PC
Dearborn, Michigan 313.563.4900
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 800.220.7200
law-business.com

©2017 John B. Payne, Attorney

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Better Living through Chemistry – Bashar al Assad

A news release from the Ministry of Health and Military Might (HMM) in the Damascus El Bulshid, the official newspaper of the Syrian regime, explains that the release of a chemical substance in several Damascus suburbs on May 21, 2013 was not the result of an attack using chemical weapons.  The substance released by the government was MMR, a vaccine to immunize children against measles, mumps, and rubella, in response to outbreaks of those diseases.  The government regrets that the vaccine was not released sooner, so that many of the deaths due to disease could have been avoided.

Does this sound silly?  No sillier than the President explaining that his objective is to stop the Assad regime from killing children with chemical weapons with minimal commitment and minimal risk.  More than 100,000 have been killed in the civil war and at least half were killed by the government and its allies.  One thousand dead due to chemical weapons is no joke, but as a portion of the casualties it is pretty small.  However, the President is making a big deal of the fact that sarin gas was used at the same time he wants portray our involvement as not a big deal.  Our priority should not be to stop Assad from killing children with chemical weapons, it should be to stop oppressive governments from killing all kinds of people with any weapons!

The United Nations has been a disappointment in many ways, but it is still a young organization.  The International Criminal Court is not yet out of its infancy.  The International Criminal Court and the U.N. are our best chance to create mechanisms to prevent the massacre of civilians by states and stateless forces.  There is where our priorities should lie.

 

John B. Payne, Attorney
Garrison LawHouse, PC
Dearborn, Michigan 313.563.4900
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 800.220.7200
law-business.com

 

©2013 John B. Payne, Attorney