WobLog

Okay, okay. I'm not supposed to say that. At least, that's what I repeatedly tell my kids. But I did tell you so.

World News Daily recently published an article revealing that Judicial Watch has studied adverse reaction reports to the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which the California Legislature was earlier trying to make mandatory for all 6th graders, and found some serious problems.

Judicial Watch found 1,637 adverse reactions, of which three were deaths of the person vaccinated, and 18 involved death or malformation of the fetus of pregnant women who had been vaccinated. Other adverse reactions included paralysis, coronary problems, and severe breathing problems. All told, Judicial Watch logged 371 serious reactions. (It is important to recognize as well, that most people in the medical field believe that adverse vaccine reactions are vastly under-reported.)

According to Judicial Watch, ""Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77 percent of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre syndrome (a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system), and seizures." Of the 42 pregnant women who were vaccinated, 18 had either spontaneous abortion or fetal malformation.

Now, if this vaccine were protecting people from an illness with a high fatality rate, it might be worth the risk involved to receive this drug. However, given that HPV is a sexually-transmitted disease -- that it, it is behaviorally transmitted -- to vaccinate all girls in the state of California because they might someday get HPV and might someday after that develop cervical cancer is insane. Of the 20 million cases of HPV in the U.S., 10,000 cases of cervical cancer develop every year. HPV is not a sentence to develop cervical cancer, and Gardasil is not a prevention for cervical cancer. In addition, it now looks like the vaccine will only "last" four to six years, so it will require frequent boosters, with the attendant risks at each vaccination.

You might not think three deaths is that significant. (Indeed, I don't know the total number of vaccinations given.) But if this were your little girl, being given a vaccine she doesn't need to keep her healthy, would you think her death was insignificant? This is another lesson in the need for parents to think for themselves and do what they decide is right rather than hand over their responsibilities to doctors or the government.

Needless to say, our daughter will not be receiving this vaccine.

Posted by Lisa Roberts at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Via the Tennessean

MURFREESBORO —Heather Southward Golczynski pulled six more letters out of her mailbox Tuesday, sent from across the nation by people touched by her husband's sacrifice and her son's courage.

Her husband, Marine Staff Sgt. Marcus "Marc" Golczynski, was killed in Iraq on March 27. At his funeral in April, Daily News Journal photographer Aaron Thompson captured Marc Golczynski's teary-eyed son, 8-year-old Christian, accepting a U.S. flag from his father's casket.

It was a picture of a moment that moved many Americans and stirred national interest in the Golczynskis' story.

"I see all of Marc's heart in him. I'm proud he stood up," Heather Golczynski said of the now-famous photograph. "Even in the absolute sadness of it all, he was a brave kid — he has the heart of his daddy."

For a month, well-wishers have sent condolence letters, blankets and stuffed animals to Marc's family. Others, many of whom the Golczynskis have never met, have set up trust funds and scholarships for Christian, who will grow up without a father.

Heather Golczynski, who lives in Maryland, will add the most recent stack of heartfelt mail to an expanding pile of more than 400 cards and letters, most of which tell young Christian how strong and courageous he is. "I'm in awe of the public's generosity," she said in an interview.

For Christian, the comments are bittersweet. "It makes him proud and he'll smile. But he still cries," Heather Golczynski said. "He's still looking for a new normal — normal doesn't exist for us anymore."

H/T National Review Online

Posted by Don Roberts at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adjacent to Forbury Gardens (see the post below) is the Reading Abbey (Catholic Encyclopedia and Wikipedia entries). As is the case with information plaques at Abbey ruins throughout Britain, the tragic period of death and destruction brought on by Henry VIII is referred to by the antiseptic term "suppression of the monasteries." There were a few encouraging exceptions to this trend, but even those tended to regret the loss of architectural treasures more than the human and spiritual cost.

Posted by Don Roberts at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those who didn't see this when it first circulated on the Web, check out the story of Darth Vader's younger brother, Chad, who works at a Wisconsin grocery store:

Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager, Episode 1

You can check out the rest of Season 1 of Chad's adventures, Episodes 2 - 8, here.

Posted by Don Roberts at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because of the effects of jet-lag, what was planned to be our second full day in London turned out to be a quieter day seeing the local sights around Reading. We started in Forbury Gardens near the eastern edge of the old city center, adjacent to the Reading Abbey (about which more later). Here's a shot of Sarah and Alex at the foot of the "Forbury Lion" statue:

We were very fortunate to catch most of the spring flowers at or near their peak. Here's a rather nice wisteria vine in the Gardens:

Posted by Don Roberts at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not long after the picture below of Lisa, the kids, and Big Ben was taken, we got this shot of Alex succumbing to jet-lag:

Alex recovered pretty quickly and a short time later, we were all viewing the London skyline from atop the London Eye. Here's a shot of Lisa and me taken during the ride:

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Army LTC Bob Bateman writes about a Pentagon tradition – a ceremony for wounded soldiers returning from the War on Terror:

Cheers on Corridor Three
by LTC Bob Bateman

10:30 hours (local EST), Friday, 11 May 2007: Third Corridor, Second Floor, The Pentagon:

It is 110 yards from the “E” ring to the “A” ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some civilians, all crammed tightly three and four deep against the walls. There are thousands here. This hallway, more than any other, is the “Army” hallway. The G3 offices line one side, G2 the other, G8 is around the corner. All Army. Moderate conversations flow in a low buzz. Friends who may not have seen each other for a few weeks, or a few years, spot each other, cross the way and renew. Everyone shifts to ensure an open path remains down the center. The air conditioning system was not designed for this press of bodies in this area. The temperature is rising already. Nobody cares.

10:36 hours (local EST):

The clapping starts at the E-Ring. That is the outermost of the five rings of the Pentagon and it is closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is low, sustained, hearty. It is an applause with a deep emotion behind it as it moves forward in a wave down the length of the hallway. A steady rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the soldier in the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with his presence. He is the first. He is missing the greater part of one leg, and some of his wounds are still suppurating.

By his age I expect that he is a private, or perhaps a private first class. Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels meet his gaze and nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago when I described one of these events on Altercation, those lining the hallways were somewhat different. The applause a little wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in the burden … yet. Now almost everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the wheelchair, also a combat veteran. This steadies the applause, but I think deepens the sentiment. We have all been there now. The soldier’s chair is pushed by, I believe, a full colonel. Behind him, and stretching the length from E to A, come more of his peers, each private, corporal or sergeant assisted as need be by a field grade officer.

10:50 hours (local EST):

Twenty-four minutes of steady applause. My hands hurt, and I laugh to myself at how stupid that sounds in my own head. “My hands hurt.” Christ. Shut up and clap.

For twenty-four minutes, soldier after soldier has come down this hallway — 20, 25, 30. Fifty-three legs come with them, and perhaps only 52 hands or arms, but down this hall came 30 solid hearts. They pass down this corridor of officers and applause, and then meet for a private lunch, at which they are the guests of honor, hosted by the generals.

Some are wheeled along. Some insist upon getting out of their chairs, to march as best they can with their chin held up, down this hallway, through this most unique audience. Some are catching handshakes and smiling like a politician at a Fourth of July parade. More than a couple of them seem amazed and are smiling shyly. There are families with them as well: the 18-year-old war-bride pushing her 19-year-old husband’s wheelchair and not quite understanding why her husband is so affected by this, the boy she grew up with, now a man, who had never shed a tear is crying; the older immigrant Latino parents who have, perhaps more than their wounded mid-20s son, an appreciation for the emotion given on their son’s behalf. No man in that hallway, walking or clapping, is ashamed by the silent tears on more than a few cheeks. An Airborne Ranger wipes his eyes only to better see. A couple of the officers in this crowd have themselves been a part of this parade in the past. These are our men, broken in body they may be, but they are our brothers, and we welcome them home.

This parade has gone on, every single Friday, all year long, for more than four years.

H/T Michael Ledeen at NRO

Posted by Don Roberts at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We spent our first full vacation day in England sightseeing in London. We started out at the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum, then headed past Big Ben and across the Thames for a ride on the London Eye. We took it pretty slow, since the kids can't walk long distances. They really enjoyed the day, so we must have paced it about right.

More pictures to follow...

Posted by Don Roberts at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The UK Catholic Herald reviews the Great Books program at California's own Thomas Aquinas College (aka TAC). Several of our friends are TAC alumni, and they're an impressive bunch.

While the college football fan in me would like to see at least one of our kids attend Notre Dame, I think TAC looks like a much more solid choice. Assuming things don't change too much in the next decade or so, TAC will be the better bet. And besides, the kids can always do like one of our friends did: attend TAC for undergrad and Notre Dame for grad school (in our friend's case, law school).

H/T New Liturgical Movement

Posted by Don Roberts at 3:33 PM | Permalink

Fr. Tim Finigan comments on the trend (at least in the English-speaking world) of moving yesterday's Feast of the Ascension to the following Sunday, and points to other posts critical of the move.

The Curt Jester expands on the theme, noting that the Thursday is observed in the Catholic blogosphere as the "Feast of the Rant that today is not Ascension Thursday." This feast is observed with posts critical of the decision by bishops to move the feast (and thus the associated obligation to attend Mass) from Thursday to Sunday (presumably because Catholics can't be expected to be Catholic for more than one hour a week). The Jester suggests a new way to observe the Feast – if you don't already regularly attend Daily Mass, make a point of attending on Ascension Thursday:

You really don't need any special reason to want to go to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but if you need one then celebrating the Ascension with the rest of the Catholic world is a nice bit of solidarity. This is the only type of Mass protest that is acceptable. It would be wonderful if more and more people each year did choose to go to Mass today and celebrate with the rest of the universal Church and lead by example so perhaps the bishops were led by this example and rethink the minimum weekly dose of Catholicism mentality.

What difference does it make, you ask? Well, for one thing, Scripture tells us the Lord ascended 40 days after Easter. That's Thursday, not Sunday. Furthermore, the deep ties between Scripture and Tradition argue for maintaining Thursday. As pointed out to us by a friend of ours at Church, the origin of the Catholic tradition of the novena is tied to Ascension Thursday:

[T]he first novena is that prayer-filled space between the Ascension of Our Lord and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the nascent Church!

We know from Acts 1:12-14 that, after the Ascension, the Apostles, together with the blessed Virgin and disciples, gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem where the Last Supper had been taken. There they devoted their time to prayer, awaiting the fulfillment of Our Lord's promise. "Wait here in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

So – they prayed for nine consecutive days, and look what happened – Pentecost!

We observed the feast by going to the well-attended Traditional Latin Mass at our parish. I like the idea of a grass-roots effort to reclaim Thursday for Ascension Thursday.

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're back from our trip to England and Scotland (about which we'll have more pictures and posts following our recovery from jet-lag). While we were in the UK, Tony Blair announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. Now that he's free of the political impediments that would prevent a sitting British Prime MInister from converting, there is growing speculation that Blair will become a Roman Catholic.

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)