FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE: September 23, 2008
CONTACT: Carlos Jimeno, 718-230-4250;
David Kirby 718-208-6883
VACCINE-AUTISM BRIEFING ON CAPITOL HILL TO DRAW MEMBERS OR STAFF FROM
125 HOUSE AND SENATE OFFICES
--Updates on Science, Policy, and Politics on the Agenda--
WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Carolyn Maloney (R-NY) will sponsor a special briefing on the vaccine-autism debate on Wednesday, September 24 at 2:00 PM in Room 210 of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC.
David Kirby, investigative journalist and author of The New York Times bestseller “Evidence of Harm, Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic A Medical Controversy,” will inform Members and their staff about developments in this debate from science, public policy, politics and law.Kirby will be joined Mark Blaxill, Director of the Coalition for SAFE MINDS.
Among the issues to be discussed are:
● A recent Vaccine Court case in which the federal government conceded that vaccines induced autism in one girl with an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction.
● Possible links between mitochondrial dysfunction and autistic regression, and information on several ASD children with mitochondrial issues;
● State-of-the-art research underway at top universities on the connection between environmental toxins, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, neuro-inflammation and autistic encephalopathy;
● Research agendas from the CDC and NIH that include investigations into links between vaccines and neuro-immune disorders
● The scope and implications of the autism epidemic. How scientific politics is preventing policy from catching up to the problem.
● Ongoing research into connections between mercury exposure and autism. Why most of what is reported is inaccurate.
● Reframing concerns over the vaccine program: It’s not a question of being pro or con vaccines, but rather a question of safety management.
David Kirby and Mark Blaxill are available for interviews. More information is at www.evidenceofharm.com and www.safeminds.com
THERE ARE NOW 126 CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES CONFIRMED:
HOUSE
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)*
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) Autism Caucus Co-Chair (“He read EOH cover to cover”)*
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN)*
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)
Rep. Christopher Carney (D-PA) (Will attend in person)*
Rep. Carney’s Health Care Legislative Aide
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. Paul Brown (D-GA) (Will try to attend in person)
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-NY) (“Likely)*
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY)*
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN)*
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)*
Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-OH)*
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) (Will attend in person)*
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)*
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)*
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)*
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)*
Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) (Will try to attend in person)*
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)*
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)*
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)*
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)*
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)*
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)*
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)*
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)*
Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)*
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) ("They really want to be a part of this.")*
Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL)*
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)*
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)*
Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME)*
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Phil English (R-PA)*
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) (Most likely)*
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) (Either in person or will send staff)*
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) (Very likely)*
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (D-MI)*
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)*
Rep. Steven Lynch (D-MA)*
Rep. Louie Gohmert (D-TX)
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) (“Will try”)
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)*
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) (In person or a staffer will be there)*
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)*
Rep. John McHugh (R-CA)*
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA)*
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) (“Will make every attempt possible”)*
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC)*
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)
Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) (“Will try to attend in person, or else send staff rep”)*
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA)*
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) (“Will attend in person, pending events that day”)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-MA) (“Will try to send someone”)*
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) (“Staffer will most likely attend”)*
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)*
Rep Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep.Jim Moran (D-VA) (“We are ALL very interested in this issue.”)*
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) (“Congressman Pickering is passionate about this issue.”)*
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) (“Staffer will most likely be there.”)*
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) (“Staffer will probably be present.”)*
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)*
Rep. John Peterson (R-PA)*
Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA)*
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)*
Rep. David Price (D-NC)*
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL)*
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)*
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) “Staffer will probably be present”*
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)*
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI)*
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (“Will do their best to get a staffer there”)*
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)*
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) (“Will try their best to have someone there”)*
Rep. Tom Bishop (D-NY) (“It’s on his schedule”)
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)*
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)*
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)*
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) (“Will do their best”)*
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) (“Will do their best”)*
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) (“Will be there in person along with his health staffer”)*
Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) (“Will try to attend”)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)*
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) (“Will try to be there in person, if not a staffer go”)*
Rep. David Wu (D-OR)*
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Rep. Virginia Brown-Waite (R-FL)
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) (“Will attend in person or send a staff person”)*
SENATE
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) (“Likely”)
Sen. John Isakson (R-GA)*
Sen. Thad Cochrane (R-MI) (“Will try”)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)*
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)*
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) (“Will try to send someone”)*
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (“Health staffer will try”)
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) (“Staff person will try to attend”)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)*
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) (“Will try to have health staffer attend”)*
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) (“Will try”)
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
HOUSE: 96
SENATE: 30
DEM: 76
GOP: 50
ALSO ATTENDING:
Kate Mevis - FDA
* Denotes a member of the 2007 2008 Coalition for Autism Research and Education (Autism Caucus) of the 110th Congress.
American Medical Autism Board Launched
First of its kind board / diplomate certification program for autism spectrum disorders
Cleveland, OH - Dr. Phillip C. DeMio, Chairman of the American Medical Autism Board, announced the commencement of the newly founded American Medical Autism Board (www.asdboards.org) at the US Autism & Asperger Association annual conference this past week in Austin, Texas. “This is the first of its kind board / diplomate certification program for medical doctors specializing in biomedical treatment of autism and related disorders,” explained Dr. DeMio.
“Medical doctors who become certified by the American Medical Autism Board (AMAB) show that they specialize in biomedical treatment of autism spectrum disorders, and will have met the Board's high levels of criteria for training and experience, and will have passed its rigorous certification examination,” said Dr. DeMio. “The biomedical concept means that autism and the autism spectrum disorders are not primary psychiatric or behavioral disorders, rather they are medical diseases with a biologic basis to their cause and to their ongoing manifestations (such as pain, gastrointestinal problems, and immune dysfunction).”
AMAB board-certified members provide biomedical evaluation and/or treatment to individuals of all ages diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, Asperger's syndrome, AD/HD, OCD, and PDD's. Through its credentialing process, AMAB offers both the public and private sectors an avenue for identifying well-qualified professionals trained and experienced in the biomedical assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorders.
Thousands of families that have an affected child will now have access to certified specialists in biomedical autism treatments; verification that AMAB physicians are up to date on the newest treatments and research;
dedication to high quality patient care; and, verification of exceptional knowledge, experience, and skills in their specialty.
About American Medical Autism Board
The American Medical Autism Board® (AMAB) is an independent non-profit incorporated certifying organization. The mission of the American Medical Autism Board is to promote safe, ethical, efficacious medical autism treatment to the public by maintaining high standards for the examination and certification of physicians as autism medical specialists. The mission of AMAB is to contribute to understanding the etiology diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, with the goal of improving the lives of affected individuals and their loved ones.
Contact information:
information@asdboards.com
www.asdboards.org
Judge Rules Product Liability Suit Pre-empted by Federal Vaccine Act
Amaris Elliott-Engel
The Legal Intelligencer
September 9, 2008
A Philadelphia judge has ruled that a federal law governing the liability of pharmaceutical companies for drug vaccines pre-empts state tort claims of design defect and failure to warn in the products liability case of an 11-year-old boy who has autism.
In an apparent case of first impression, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Arnold L. New wrote an Aug. 27 opinion required under Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925 to affirm his decision to grant summary judgment in favor of pharmaceutical defendants Aventis Pasteur Inc., Merck & Co. Inc. and Wyeth in Wright v. Aventis Pasteur.
New said both the plaintiffs' design defect and failure to warn claims were expressly pre-empted by the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. New also found that the failure to warn claim failed to raise any genuine issues of material fact that can overcome the protection the Vaccine Act provides to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
New said in his opinion that it appears no Pennsylvania state court has addressed whether §22(b) of the Vaccine Act expressly pre-empts claims of design defects against vaccine manufacturers, or whether each case has to be examined individually to determine "whether a vaccine is unavoidably safe before they gain the protection of Section 22(b)."
"Congress clearly intended when it enacted the Vaccine Act to exercise its constitutionally delegated authority to preempt all state design defect claims without case-by-case determination that the side effects are unavoidable," New wrote.
The 1986 Vaccine Act was created to provide recovery of damages to injured vaccine recipients without the requirement that the recipients prove the manufacturer was negligent and that a vaccine was defective, New said. The Vaccine Act was also aimed at preventing the undermining of national vaccine supply by expensive litigation, New said.
New noted that other courts' decisions -- including the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's 2006 ruling in Sykes v. Glaxo-SmithKline and its 2007 ruling in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth -- have been similar.
"This court was guided by their opinions and concluded Section 22(b)(1) preempts, without there first being a case-by-case determination as to whether a vaccine is unavoidably unsafe, all state law claims that an FDA-approved vaccine was defectively designed, " New wrote.
The only contrary ruling was a 2007 Georgia state court ruling in Ferrari v. American Home Products Corp., New said.
In Wright, Jared Wright, 11, of Texas, was administered five vaccines in the first year-and-a-half of his life that contained thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in vaccines to deter bacterial growth, as well as one other vaccine, New wrote. Jared's parents, Howard and Jacqueline Wright, claimed that the mercury in those six vaccines manufactured by the pharmaceutical defendants caused Jared's autism.
Plaintiffs' attorney Marc P. Weingarten of Locks Law Firm said the case is "an extremely important issue to be heard by the courts of Pennsylvania" because of the federal pre-emption issues arising in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation in both state and federal jurisdictions.
The plaintiffs argued that the defendants were negligent because the public and the medical profession were not warned about the alleged hazards of mercury in the vaccines, New said. The plaintiffs also argued that the pharmaceutical defendants failed to use ordinary cases in designing the vaccines containing thimerosal because of the risks the plaintiffs say toxic mercury poses to infants and children.
The plaintiffs said the Vaccine Act didn't automatically pre-empt the design defect claim because the vaccine defendants have the burden of proof to show on a case-by-case basis that the use of thimerosal is "‘unavoidably safe,'" New said.
Courts can interpret the Vaccine Act two ways, the plaintiffs argued, and should only interpret the Vaccine Act to pre-empt design defect claims "only if first the side effects are determined to be unavoidable on a case-by-case basis," New said.
New said Congress intended the Vaccine Act to pre-empt all state design defect claims without a case-by-case assessment if the vaccines' side effects were unavoidable because Congress didn't want instability in the vaccine market to be caused by numerous torts over vaccine injuries. That's why Congress set up its National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, the judge said.
If the plaintiffs' argument is given credence, New said, then the protection provided by the Vaccine Act will no longer extend to vaccine manufacturers and, in turn, to the stability of the supply of child vaccines.
Manufacturers can obtain a presumption of proper warning under the Vaccine Act by providing evidence showing compliance with federal Food and Drug Administration vaccine regulations, New said. Plaintiffs can only overcome this presumption, New said, by showing the vaccine manufacturer engaged in fraud or wrongful withholding of information from the FDA regarding the vaccine prior to approval; wrongfully withheld information related to the vaccine's safety after its approval; or failed to exercise due care even though the manufacturer complied with federal laws and regulations.
Every major public health organization -- as well as the Food and Drug Administration -- that has examined the alleged link between the use of thimerosal in vaccines and neurological injury has not found a causal link, New said.
Merck defense attorney Madeline M. Sherry of Gibbons, Aventis Pasteur defense attorney Jonathan Dryer of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker and Wyeth defense attorney Reetu Dandora of Reed Smith could not be reached for comment.
"... these charges against Palin are false, driven by a misreading of the budget documents for the state.
The "proof," as has been presented, is part of the fiscal 2007 budget for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, which includes funding for the Alaska School for the Deaf, students who are patients at the Alaska Psychiatric Hospital, and the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy, a statewide, boot-camp-style program. The budget that year was $8,265,300.
But the next year, fiscal 2008, the budget is shown as $3,156,000, leading to the accusation that Palin cut the department's budget.
The difference in funding, however, is because the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy moved to a budget line item of its own. In the fiscal 2009 budget, you can see that the academy alone has a budget of $6,082,100. When you add that to the $3,156,000 that is being spent on all the other projects, it adds up to $9,238,100--an approximately 12 percent INCREASE in spending on all those particular programs, put together, since fiscal 2007."
Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding
Gov. Sarah Palin and state lawmakers have gone ahead with an overhaul of Alaska’s school funding system that supporters predict will provide much-needed financial help to rural schools and those serving students with disabilities.
The plan, enacted in the recently concluded session of the legislature, is based on recommendations issued by a legislative task force last year. It will phase in a greater flow of money to districts outside of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, over the next five years.
Advocates for rural and remote schools have lobbied for years for more funding, in particular noting the higher fuel, transportation, and other costs associated with providing education in communities scattered across the vast state.
A second part of the measure raises spending for students with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
Unlike many other states, Alaska has relatively flush budget coffers, thanks to a rise in oil and gas revenues. Funding for schools will remain fairly level next year, however. Overall per-pupil funding across the state will rise by $100, to $5,480, in fiscal 2009. Total K-12 funding will rise to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion, when transportation, energy, and other state funds are included, according to estimates from the governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
The state also agreed to add another $216 million to fill in shortfalls in its teacher-retirement system, the budget office said.
Carl Rose, the executive director of the Association of Alaska School Boards, praised the changes in funding for rural schools and students with special needs as a “historic event,” and said the finance overhaul would bring more stability to district budgets.
Bill Bjork, the president of the Alaska state affiliate of the National Education Association, said that he was pleased with those changes, but that the plan, and the increase in per-pupil spending, “doesn’t do enough, soon enough,” particularly given the state’s strong oil revenues.
Sarah Palin supportive of state’s performance-pay plan.
By Sean Cavanagh and Alyson Klein
In tapping Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain has selected an elected official who has supported increased funding for education across her rural, frontier state and voiced support for school-choice programs that appeal to many conservatives.
A mother of five children, Ms. Palin, 44, vaults onto the national stage as the vice presidential nominee from relative obscurity, at least within the political and education circles of the nation’s capital.
The Republican governor was elected to that post less than two years ago. Before that, she was the mayor of Wasilla, a suburb of Anchorage, which is the state’s largest city.
Members of education organizations in Alaska generally spoke favorably about Ms. Palin’s record on school issues since she took office in January of 2007. The governor has become a popular figure among the 13,000 members of the Alaska National Education Association, said Barbara Angaiak, president of the state affiliate of the National Education Association.
The union official credited Ms. Palin for having backed a legislative proposal, which became law this year, that overhauled the state’s school funding system. That plan brought more money to the state’s many rural and remote school districts and raised spending for students with special needs. ("Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding," April 30, 2008.)
The measure raised per-pupil funding by $100, to $5,480, and brought the state’s total K-12 budget to $1.2 billion.
“She understands many of the issues that are important to educators in Alaska," Ms. Angaiak said. "She pushed fairly hard on funding, and we were pleased she was pushing.”
Supports Performance Pay
Alaska has one of the nation’s most unusual performance-incentive programs, which rewards school employees with payments for gains in student achievement. The state-run program is distinct in that it includes many different kinds of employees, from administrators and teachers to custodians and secretaries, offering them payments for increased student performance at their school.
The program was initially signed into law by the previous governor, Republican Frank H. Murkowski, as a three-year pilot program, though Ms. Palin has been supportive of it, said Eric Fry, a spokesman for the state’s department of education and early development.
Ms. Palin campaigned as a supporter of school-choice programs, though a number of Alaska education observers said they could not cite examples of her having shepherded policies in that area into law. Alaska, partly because it has so many rural schools scattered across formidable terrain, has a well-established tradition of allowing homeschool programs, which Ms. Palin has supported, Mr. Fry noted.
“There is awesome potential to improve education, respect good teachers, and embrace choice for parents,” Ms. Palin told lawmakers in her state-of-the-state address earlier this year. “This potential will prime Alaska to compete in a global economy that is so competitive it will blow us away if we are not prepared.”
Supports Flexibility on NCLB
Ms. Palin has also become known for juggling her duties as Alaska’s chief executive with those of a parent. Well into her term as governor, she announced that she was pregnant, and in April, she gave birth to a son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome. The governor was reportedly back at work days after the boy was born. She and her husband, Todd, have four other children.
Since taking office, Ms. Palin has been generally supportive of the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act, though she has also backed Alaska’s efforts to gain more flexibility under the federal law, a number of observers said. Alaska officials have said that meeting the law's mandates has been difficult, particularly in the state's more remote districts.
The Alaska governor’s experience with the NCLB law appeared to reflect that of a particular constituency of policymakers on education, said Michael J. Petrilli, the vice president for national programs and policy at the Washington office of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
“Her instincts are going to come from rural America,” Mr. Petrilli said. “It’s hard to find a state that is less of a fit for No Child Left Behind” than Alaska, he added.
The relatively short amount of time Ms. Palin has spent in office made it difficult to predict the education views she would bring to a McCain administration, said Tom Toch, a co-director of Education Sector, a Washington think tank. But he suspected that Ms. Palin’s policy-shaping role on school issues would be a small one.
“There’s not much to suggest that she would be likely to put forward any serious discussion of school reform issues,” Mr. Toch said. Generally speaking, on education, “there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot there.”
Ms. Palin’s rise to the governor’s position was sudden. After serving as mayor of Wasilla, she easily defeated then-Gov. Murkowski, in the 2006 Republican primary, before beating Democrat Tony Knowles, himself a former Alaska governor, in the general election.
As a candidate, Ms. Palin reportedly did weigh in on an issue that has stoked enormous controversy, not to mention legal action, in states and school districts. During a televised debates for governor, she said she thought creationism, the Biblically based view that God created the universe, should be taught alongside evolution in public classrooms, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Such proposals are strongly opposed by the vast majority of scientists, who say so-called alternatives to evolution are inherently unscientific, and mislead students.
“Teach both,” Ms. Palin was quoted as saying during the debate. “You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is important, and I am a proponent of teaching both.”
Ms. Palin told the newspaper at the time, however, that she would not push to add creationist views to the state school curriculum. Mr. Fry said the governor had not supported any such proposal during her time in office.
Staff writers Linda Jacobson and Christina Samuels contributed to this report.
"I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake works on a loading dock, coaches Little League, and raises money for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher, working toward her master's degree. They have two sons; the youngest, Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office. They matter to me. And they matter to you."
Date: Friday, September 5 starting at 3:00 pm
Please join us! We have a huge opportunity to meet Barack Obama before the election and we need you there.
To support vaccination choice, I am welcoming all families to an informal gathering on my front lawn this Friday, September 5th starting at 3:00 pm.
Obama’s motorcade will be passing in front of my house twice en route to and from a major DNC reception which starts at 5:00 pm.
Jon Corzine is co-hosting the event. We expect press and other NJ politicians to be there. The reception ends shortly before 7:00 pm where many will be attending dinner at Bon Jovi’s house about 5 minutes away.
If you can make it, e-mail me ASAP with your full name, address and home/cell # for everyone in your party. I will try to get info regarding Secret Service/security protocol tomorrow and will send a note to participants with directions and further details.
If you can’t e-mail me, come anyway… we’ll get you in.
If you arrive late, that’s ok, he will probably arrive close to 5:00 pm and he’ll probably leave about 6:45-7:00 pm.
You can take NJ Transit to Red Bank or the ferry from downtown NYC to Highlands. Carpool if you can but don’t worry, I have lots of parking.
If you are local, you must come… please. This is so important. Bring your kids, neighbors and friends.
Bring water and a picnic dinner. We’ll try to order pizzas if they can get through security. Whole Foods is 5 mns away.
Bring lawn chairs and outdoor toys. There will be lots of room for the kids to play.
At least one person will attend the DNC reception and will tell Obama “the folks outside are with me… please come out and say a few words, we all vote!”
Bring your video cameras and share your clips with us.
Bring lots of signs and banners. Think big, creative, bold.
Change. Vaccine Policy.
“He’s our guy” and will get to the bottom of the vaccine-autism link.
Change. The CDC. The FDA. The NIH.
Pharma Reform
Too Much Too Soon
Vaccine Choice
CDC Says 69 Shots By Age 18
CDC Says 33 Shots By 15 Months
Other Developing Countries Don’t Mandate Shots
1950 = #3 in Infant Mortality
2007 = #42 in Infant Mortality
No Forced Vaccination in America
1 in 6 = Special Needs Kids
1 in 60 = NJ boys with Autism (CDC)
1 in 42 = US boys with Autism (Truth)
We vote!
Help Our Kids, Sen. Obama!
If you can help with signs or banners, drop them off tomorrow or Fri morning.
Can you think of something creative we can do or make to get his attention or make him smile?
I’ll be on Gary Null tomorrow at 12:30 pm.
My next vaccine seminar is tomorrow at Long Hill Township Public Library in Gillette, NJ from 6-9pm. You can drop off signs at the library if you can’t make it to Middletown.
Let Obama see that we are serious… that we have a message for him.
Kim Stagliano for Louise Kuo Habakus
Hi, Ginger. Sorry for the curt nature of this email… crazy day. Obama is attending a DNC fundraiser and there’s no guarantee he will address our group so I don’t want to mislead..
1. You might want to sign it “Kim Stagliano for Louise Kuo Habakus” since it references my seminars and “come to my house.”
2. My Long Hill seminar was last night. *Does not imply endorsement go to www.njvaccinationchoice.org and click on Calendar of Events for more details
3. Tell people to email ASAP for alternate parking and other critical details since security will be very tight and they may be checking against a list of registered people. There will be no parking permitted on the street.
4. Please respect that this is a friendly gathering in an intimate setting with many children in attendance for friends and supporters of vaccination choice. We hope to encourage Obama to talk with our group.
I’ll send you the press release when it’s finalized. Say a prayer for us.
Best,
Louise
