Ding Dong the Autism Doc is….not dead, but let’s say defrocked. Not a legal term, but the religious, moral, ethical undertones do justice to the atrocious escapades and subsequent come-uppance of the former Doctor Andrew Wakefield so well.
Now that Britain has stripped the vaccines-cause-autism auteur of his medical license, I can’t help but wonder… Let’s review, take a look at our protoganist over there…
There it is, the broad-faced boyish charm. Remember, a real-looker at the medical convention.
Yes, Brad Pitt and Brendan Frasier with a stethoscope and greased palm.
I bet Brendan is free, but this story deserves A-list treatment. A year ago Mr. Pitt was a long shot, but if US Magazine can be trusted, Mr. Pitt’s looking a little bit more like the rest of us, even without the billy-goat beard. And what’s the last movie we saw him in anyhow? Brad, this could be your own Russell Crowe Insider Moment. Think about it.
Fingers crossed, until the big screen debut bide your time with this witty graphic depiction of the saga. Pee first, really. http://tallguywrites.livejournal.com/148012.html
Dangerous diapers? It’s a case of social networking gone amok – spawning rumors that the new Pampers Dry Max cause chemical burns.
Read all about it from Trevor Butterworth, a guy I adore, an editor over at STATS.com and now a columnist at Forbes.com ! Yes, Forbes – an entity many of us do not automatically equate with sage parenting news. Only Butterworth could liken the current online parenting rumors and rampant susceptibility to false information to the aftermath of the 1938 radio broadcast of the War of the Worlds. Bravo, Mr. Butterworth! http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/25/war-of-the-worlds-marketing-opinions-columnists-trevor-butterworth.html
Read the dreadful story of the toddler choking on popcorn in the New York Times Science section this week. Makes me want to cut everything into tiny pieces. Who knew carrots, apples and sunflower seeds were among the worst choking hazzards? Scary but will warning labels on these foods make any difference? Reduce child choking deaths? And just where will this info fit on the tiny produce stickers? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/health/25choke.html
Is it so impossible to imagine that some babies really are getting rashes from the new Pampers? My oldest son got an irritated, raw and bleeding foreskin when he wore Huggies Supreme diapers. They are all my youngest wears. I've heard stories of severe reactions to every brand of diaper, what one child has a reaction to, another child does fine with. I think what is most likely happening here is that do to the redesign*, kids are being exposed to something in the Pampers that they didn't come into contact with before, and some proportion of the babies that could happily use the older version are reacting to the newer one. Then, any parent who has a kid in Pampers who also happens to have a diaper rash assumes that it is due to the diapers.
*Pampers spokespersons say these diapers are exactly the same as the older ones, except when they say they are brand new, ground-breaking technology.
Oh, and I wanted to add that I tried one of the 3 pack samples of the new diapers that Pampers sent out, and I really liked them. I would buy them except 1) the perfumes they use give me migraines and 2) Huggies gives out fantastic coupons, so that if I combine the coupons with sales, I can usually get the high end Huggies for less than store brand diapers. Pampers coupons stink. 😉
You're right, my kids, especially my son (with eczema), had diaper rashes alot. One kid could use Pampers, another Huggies, another not the Huggies Pull-Ups. So I have no doubt some young butts react badly to the new Pampers though I doubt it rises to the level of harm portrayed online.
Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate your site? I love the information — love even more the way you present it. Thanks for consistently lifting my spirits with your wry humor!
Thanks, Janet. By the way, love yours too and been telling you how I admire your post titles, subtle and spot on! As for MR. Wakefield, it's such a mess and depressing that we deserve some laughs. PS Thanks for pointing the way to FFF's adoptive parent link, wonderful story.