editorials

Finally, finally, finally, finally, the Strib wrote an editorial on a controversial political issue without pulling its punch. For once in a long time, the "other hand" was not mentioned. The usual fear of alienating a declining pool of advertisers is absent. You're making me nostalgic for the days when the Minneapolis Star-Tribune was an opinion leader in this state. Please keep it up!

Everyone makes mistakes but this woman is so badly misinformed about so many subjects that I really think her best debate was the previous one when she just kept herself quiet.

I dont think vaccines should be forced. I also dont think that because she is not a fan of vaccines she is an irresponsible parent. Are her kids allive and healthy today? How was their childhood. There are far worse things than not recieving every vaccination out there. Some vaccines are not necesary. Such as the chicken pox vaccine, many vaccines wear off over time and an adult catching the chicken pox is far more harmful than if you were to catch them as a child. Requiring the HPV shot is ridiculous. Requiring any shot is ridiculous. And no, I dont support Bachman before you start to pin me as such.

You may not like Bachmann personally, which I get, but I didn't hear an argument in this article against her main point that the vaccination should be an "opt-in" rather than an "opt-out". Even if it can be proved that this vaccination is 99% safe, the liberty we enjoy in this country should not subject its citizens to a controversial vaccination without their consent.

mnmaggiemn wrote:

I don't think vaccines should be forced. I also don't think that because she is not a fan of vaccines she is an irresponsible parent.

So you believe that no child should be required to be vaccinated? That means that those children will both be at risk for contracting life-threatening viruses, and spreading them to others who are also not vaccinated. Would you rather have a healthy child that is protected against such things, or one that dies because of not being vaccinated?

Pick one.

Congresswoman Bachman publicly stated that the vaccine causes mental retardation without any factual basis for her statement. She made this comment on national television. Her statement is false, baseless, inflamatory and incredibly irresponsible. This is worse than the British doctor who falsified data to support his claims that measles vaccinations cause autism. He lost his medical license. Congresswoman Bachman should face similar consequences. She isn't qualified to be a member of Congress, let alone president.

The editorial writer and most posting here are failing to make two very significant distinctions. Michelle Bachmann is not fighting parents who choose to get their children vaccinated - she is fighting the idea that government should mandate the vaccine. Second, this is a sexually transmitted disease. If your 12-year-old daughter avoids sexual contact she is in no danger. This vaccine is not comparable to others that prevent disease outbreaks that are unavoidable.

my4cents-common sense is not allowed in these threads. you should know that by now. This qualm is very similiar to the roe v. wade debate in which states rights is the real issue no matter how vile abortion is and yet it is never presented that way. You are completely correct in saying the real point she made is that the federal government shouldn't be in any position near being able to force 12 year old girls to take a vaccine against stds yet you will be overwhelming given thumbs down for making the comment. Thus is the vacuum of startribune threads.

I don't think there is anything foolish about her pointing out that the government shouldn't be forcing parents to have their children undergo certain procedures. There are many people that think some vaccines are dangerous, this isn't just her. Some people will simply go along and do anything the government says because the government must be right....... right? Well, who is the government? The government is nothing more than your friend, your neighbor, others in our community that happen to get a paycheck by the taxpayer and go to work in a government building. The government is us. Do you let your neighbor make medical decisions for you? Do you give your paycheck to your neighbor and ask them how to spend it? If not, then why in the he## do you let the government do it? Sometimes it pays to take a minute and think about what is actually happening. I have intimate knowledge of how government works on the inside and you would be surprised how often those on the inside say or infer that they know better than the "common" person. Take that and mill on it. I trust myself more than anyone else, more than my neighbor and more than those that I pay to do work on my behalf at a government building. At the end of the day I am responsible for my life.... I may take advice from others, I may go with a recommendation, I may be convinced to do certain things if it makes sense but I still make the choices in my life and I don't blindly let others do it.

"Freedom is about taking your own risks" - Ron Paul at GOP Presidential debate. This describes the GOP health care plan is Stay Healthy or Die Fast. This concept was supported, hooted, and hollered for and not critiqued or discarded by a single person at the debate, candidates and audience alike. Can it be any more clear? After decades of proposing nothing except dis-mantling what we have, they are finally admitting if you get sick and cannot get insurance, please die fast. The GO(me)P way. Clear and simple.