Musings and What-not

No matter your feelings towards this man, you should put them aside for a moment and read this. Offit's not making any profits off False Prophets . He announced today that all of his proceeds will be donated to the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . "We are very pleased to partner with Dr. Offit, and to accept the royalties of his book for the work done here at the Center for Autism Research (CAR) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," said Dr. Bob Schultz, director of the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital. "CAR is dedicated to helping children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. CAR's mission is to identify the causes of ASD, and from that knowledge devise effective treatments. By donating profits from his book, Dr. Offit is helping to push science forward for the good of all." Yes!  Offit is affiliated with the hospital as the Chief of Infectious Diseases and Director of...

I haven't followed Dr. Paul Offit's career, but I do know where he stands where vaccines and autism are concerned.  I also know that his latest book, False Prophets , refutes any connection between autism and vaccines. TODAY talked about Offit's book in today 's Health (no pun intended). In the prologue, Offit states, Since the late 1990s, many studies have shown that the rates of autism are the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. This bit o' info isn't anything new to me, but what I did find ridiculous is the fact that people have taken to threatening not only his life but the lives of his family as well. When Offit appeared on MSNBC for a congressional hearing, he was asked if he had vaccinated his own children.  He stated, "yes" and offered up their names and ages.  During one of the breaks, Congressman Tierney pulled him aside and said, “Never,” he said, breathlessly, “never mention the names of your own children in front of a group like...