Yesterday I wrote about the uncertainty of the information available about vaccinations and my decisions of the moment for my own family in the face of that uncertainty. There are tentative words throughout: "we do not know," "seems to," "appears," "might be."
This is not quite the level of certainty as say, President Biden and Anthony Fauci saying that if you are vaccinated "you will not catch Covid" and "you will not transmit Covid."
Nonetheless, a couple of you write me back to say I was dead wrong. I don't think I can be dead wrong when I wasn't attempting to be dead right. So let's examine the situation. It is a question of where we get our information.
I don't kid myself when I search with Duck Duck Go. It promises not to track me and sell the information to advertisers. On the other hand, it routes many of its queries through Google. I have read that Google controls something like 85% of Internet searches. When I search on "chickenpox shingles" to find out what the connection might be among the unvaccinated, about the first 20 things that come up extol the virtues of the vaccines. I didn't find what I wanted – how much chickenpox predisposes you to shingles, and an assessment of the severity.
This is worthy of discussion because it's indicative of a universal problem. Our opinions are very much shaped by forces to which most people are oblivious. This is especially obvious on two topics I have been covering at some length, Covid 19 and Russia. Just as a case in point, Dr. Vernon Coleman rightly that claims his predictions in videos he made on coronavirus in early 2020 have proven to be almost totally accurate. He points out also that the predictions of Anthony Fauci from that time have been almost totally wrong. Yet who are we still listening to?
Getting past Google to search for the truth is a difficult process. On purpose, I am sure. The sources that Google does not totally control include books, peer-reviewed scientific papers, and independent blogs such as this on Substack. You will notice that Google makes all of these hard to find, Duck Duck Go somewhat less so.
With regard to the question at hand, I went back to a book I reviewed last year entitled Vaccines: Truths, Lies and Controversy by Peter Goetsche. He writes: "… varicella zoster virus may cause shingles (herpes zoster), which mainly affects immunocompromised and elderly people." And "The vaccines are live attenuated ones. The WHO does not recommend universal vaccination, but suggests routine childhood immunization in countries where the disease has an important public health impact.". The VAERS system does report postvaccination deaths, though not at a level similar to the measles vaccination.
The author is hardly anti-VAX. In his conclusion he writes "It is vastly better to get all the recommendation vaccines than to refuse all of them...." "However, we can do much better than to simply accept everything that is recommended."
He goes on "after having read what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes about flu shots, I don't trust anything this agency writes about the necessity of being vaccinated. It has been abundantly documented that we cannot trust the drug agencies either. In their work, they rely far too much on what drug companies tell them even though they know very well that fraud, bias and underreporting of serious drug harms in industry sponsored drug trials are common."
We come back to my personal decision based, as I said, on incomplete knowledge but with a full appreciation of Dane Goetsche's assessment of the federal agencies in charge, and the minimal danger posed by chickenpox in the first place, that I can afford to wait and watch with regard to that vaccination.
You may note that, probably in the interest of getting his book published, his conclusion that it is better to get the recommended vaccinations is somewhat at odds with his other points. I will go with his skepticism.
For a truly chilling assessment of the current situation, search on "vernon coleman 11 December 2021." You don't want to believe it, but before dismissing it compare his track record with that of the experts. On a related note, Alex Berenson writes that he proposed to Regnery, the publisher of his immensely successful Pandemia, a new book on the projected devastation to be brought about by the vaccines. Regnery answered with the question "Who would buy it?"
Berenson concedes their point. Unlike masks, lockdowns and my іvermectin, you can't undo vaccination. The people who are not vaccinated have clearly made up their minds, and the people who have been vaccinated simply don't want to hear about it.
Zoriana is back in kindergarten today. I made a compromise with regard to Eddie. I cannot keep other people from meddling in his education. The concession that I have made is that he is reading Ukrainian literature instead of Ukrainian history. The concession that his mother has made is that he is damned well going to write about it. Writing is my issue – about what is secondary.
The other question is about a Ukrainian teacher. Eddie and I together can find things for him to read and write about. The only thing I cannot do is to correct his grammar. I observe how rigorously the Ukrainian school system drums in the importance of English grammar – to the exclusion of vocabulary, conversation, and the other stuff that makes a language useful. I am sure that they are equally adamant about Ukrainian grammar. Therefore, an intelligent college student ought to be able to give Eddie 99% of what he needs in the way of Ukrainian grammar. We don't need to pay big hryvnya to have a teacher come here or Eddie go to him or her. We don't need a professional educator's curriculum or curricular materials foisted on us.
You will note, having read this blog, that I keep my elbows out on the subject all the time and I still give ground. This is the compromise of the moment.
I have to be thankful for the problems we don't have. Here's a want ad from my erstwhile alma mater, Reed College: Seeking Math Tutor (middle school math) for 12.5 year old Enbie. ASK by xxxxx yyyy, College Relations, Staff. ==== In search of mentorship and math tutoring! Our non-binary kiddo (they/them pronouns) is experiencing distractions and challenges..
.
That's the news from Lake WeBeGone, where the strong men are simply trying to learn the simple process of reading and writing in foreign languages, the good looking women are adamant about keeping their oars in our water, and yet we remain friends throughout. And the kids have their eyes open and or learning how adults operate.