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Pox parties (5x8 - 11/7/11)

Posted at 7:05 AM on November 7, 2011 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Five by 8

When facts take a licking, the latest Vikings stadium video, the heart of a racer, dreams denied and dreams fulfilled, and Oklahoma's seismic mystery.

The Monday Morning Rouser:

1) FACTS TAKE A LICKING

"Are you scared enough of vaccines to give your kid a lollipop that's supposedly been licked by another child with chicken pox?" the Los Angeles Times asks. Apparently, plenty of people are and it's not a good idea. But this is one area of health care where facts don't seem to matter.

People are selling lollipops allegedly licked by their infected kids to people who think they can be used to give their own kids chicken pox, and get an immunity that lasts longer than that provided by vaccines. It's being organized on Facebook. The problem is it also makes kids more susceptible to complications, the paper says.

Thirty years ago, it was common for parents to bring their kids over to a sick friend's house to get exposed to chickenpox -- maybe that's why today's "pox parties" seem like a good option to parents put off by vaccines. Mason likened the practice to playing roulette. "It was not a good idea then, and it's still not a good idea," he said.

UCLA infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Katona was even more blunt: "I'd like to see charges pressed here," he said, referring to the practice of sending the virus through the mail.

Why would parents do such a thing? Getting something from a complete stranger in the mail and asking your kid to lick it?

"If you are engaged in this type of behavior, you're not only potentially exposing innocent people to dangerous viruses and illnesses and diseases, you're also exposing yourself potentially to federal criminal prosecution," the U.S. Attorney in Tennessee is warning.

2) ANOTHER DAY. ANOTHER STADIUM STORY

How'd you survive yesterday without the Minnesota Vikings playing on a Sunday in the fall? You did survive, right?

Another pro-stadium video has surfaced -- it came from the Vikings -- to remind you what you might have missed... or not.

The Vikings haven't actually said they'd move if taxpayers don't pony up for a new stadium. But the latest video confirms the threat.

"It's one thing if someone believes that the presence of an NFL team isn't worth the cost of a new stadium," the Pioneer Press' Tom Powers writes today. "You can disagree, but you have to respect an honest opinion. It's quite another to simply stand idly by and intentionally do nothing - have no position, no ideas, no desire to be bothered."

3) THE HEART OF A RACER

Joao Silva, the New York Times photographer who lost his legs when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan, ran the New York Marathon yesterday and finished 52nd in the handcycle division. He had originally intended to stop along the way to take pictures, but after he crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island, he stopped taking pictures.

"I realized that if I was going to take more pictures, I was never going to finish this race," he said. "It felt good. I'm a racer at heart. I wanted to race."

His pictures and story are available on the New York Times' Lens blog.

4) DREAMS DENIED. DREAMS FULFILLED

Nathan Nerland, of St. Paul, says he and his sixth-grade pal had dreams of growing up to be teachers. "We hoped we could find a school where we'd have neighboring classrooms and work together for the rest of our lives and share the gift of learning," he says on his website. But his friend died and Nerland went into advertising. Now he's paying for building a school in his friend's memory.

5) SEISMIC MYSTERY

Rare earthquakes hit Oklahoma over the weekend. When it did, National Weather Service radar picked up bugs and birds heading for the sky to get away from the rumbling ground.

It's not entirely comforting that scientists reportedly are "puzzled' by the increase in seismic activity in the area, according to the New York Daily News.

Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year until 2009. Then the number spiked, and 1,047 quakes shook the state last year, the paper says.

Bonus: A former colleague who works for CBS News, snapped this picture of Andy Rooney's office on Saturday, the day Rooney died. Note the presence of a computer and the absence of a typewriter.

TODAY'S QUESTION
Around Minnesota, local officials and the citizens they represent are grappling with hard choices involving public services and shrinking budgets. Today's Question: If your local government has to make severe cuts in services, where should it start?

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: Campaign managers and consultants spend a lot of time trying figure out the traits that will help sell their candidate. But research shows that in many cases those traits aren't what voters consider important. A political scientist wonders if this suggests a fundamental problem with our modern electoral system.

Second hour: Author Colson Whitehead joined Kerri Miller to discuss zombies, Twitter, his childhood journal and his new book, Zone One. Recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater on November 2nd.

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - First hour: Rep. Pat Garofalo and Rep. Mindy Greiling discuss Tuesday's elections to raise taxes for schools.

Second hour: A debate from NPR's "Intelligence Squared" series: Do Grandma's Benefits Imperil Junior's Future?

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - First hour: The new politics of race.

Second hour: War correspondent P.J. O'Rourke thought he was too old "too keep being scared stiff." So he retired and decided to travel for fun.

Comments (12)

Re: #5
I always find these instances of increased geological activity fascinating not because of the awesome geology that is occurring, but in how the public responds. The same people it seems will begin to freak out and worry every time. There was a decent earthquake in Oklahoma? God must be up to something.
(A couple years ago)- there is an earthquake swarm in Yellowstone? It is going to erupt and the world is going to end.
The Mayan calendar ends in 2012? The world is going to end then.

While I appreciate the more media coverage of geological happenings, I wish it generated more interest in the sciences instead of crazy philosophical ideas about 'who' is behind all of it.

Posted by bench | November 7, 2011 8:03 AM

#1) Gross.

And people on both ends of the mail should be charged with a crime.

Then again, I'm crazy, I had my children vaccinated.

Posted by David | November 7, 2011 8:50 AM

Another great inspiration out of the NYC Marathon handcycle division is Alex Zanardi.

http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/story/former-driver-alex-zanardi-finds-success-at-nyc-marathon-110611

Posted by Matt | November 7, 2011 9:15 AM

#2
Nicely scripted video, but it's too bad that the attempted vibe created with the terms "a place for athlete's to play" (the arena and what it was once upon a time) is obviously something that belonged to sports a long time ago, before commercialism and advertising.

This is the sum of sports today is revenue generated from all the commercialized garbage created around them.

Posted by Patty | November 7, 2011 9:44 AM

I think it's pretty great how the oil companies are keeping the recent earthquakes and practice of frakking disconnected in the news.

/sarcasm

Posted by Tyler | November 7, 2011 10:38 AM

i had my child vaccinated and he had a mild outbreak after the vaccination. And then shortly after another mild outbreak. Yes, the second was chicken pox but it was explained to me that because he was vaccinated it was mild. My child's pediatrician was quite surprised too as he called in other colleagues to take a look, of course with my permission.

While I don't believe in these mystery flu vaccines and whatever other mystery serum they come up with these days, maybe it amounts to lack of trust in every nurse administering them, I did have and do allow some vaccines.

Giving your child a poisoned sucker is like allowing them to roam freely infront of a pit bull without a leash in a park. Purely child abuse.

Posted by Jena | November 7, 2011 11:57 AM

Re Morning Rouser: Yes, His Royal Diminutiveness is quite the ax man, isn't he.

Re Facts take a Licking: I shudder to think what would be sent through the mails to naturally inoculate against STDs.

Re Seismic Mysteries: All of the earthquakes of course are caused by the massive subterranean boiling of water in preparation for the return of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Posted by Jim Shapiro | November 7, 2011 12:13 PM

"like allowing them to roam freely infront of a pit bull without a leash in a park"

Jena, are you saying pit bulls are inherently violent? I hope you are not...

Giving someone a poisoned sucker is more like bio-terrorism than it is anything else.

Posted by bench | November 7, 2011 12:13 PM

If you were a parent, you would know that a good, loving, caring parent would NEVER place their child in a potentially harmful environment.

Pit bulls have a reputation of becoming violent when they feel threatened.

Posted by Yammering Bench | November 7, 2011 12:21 PM

Jena- I worked at a Veterinary hospital for a couple of years and I can tell you that pit bulls are NOT violent dogs. People train them to be that way. I have had many times where I would be completely comfortable putting my own child in front of a pit bull that just arrive through animal control (after I was around it for a little bit).
I have had only twice where a dog has bite me and each time it was from a dog weighing less than 20 lbs.

If you want to feed into the stigma that pit bulls are violent dogs then fine, I am sure you stereotype a lot of other things too.

Pit bulls are amazing dogs and it is people who dont attempt to know them at all that create the unneeded stereotype that they attack anything that moves.

Posted by bench | November 7, 2011 12:49 PM

what bench said
"Pit bulls are amazing dogs and it is people who dont attempt to know them at all that create the unneeded stereotype that they attack anything that moves."

what yammering bench said

"Pit bulls have a reputation of becoming violent when they feel threatened."

bench,
I think what Yammering B. was saying is different from what you are implying what YB said.
Dogs might feel threatened when they are not being threatened, by an innocent instance such as a wandering toddler. It would be prudent of a parent to keep a child close at hand and in arms in such a case.

Posted by Pete | November 7, 2011 1:09 PM

Not sure what exactly is going on with this thread -- but everyone use their real names and address an issue. Please and thank you

Posted by Bob Collins | November 7, 2011 1:26 PM