Autism-Vaccine / Neurodiversity War Getting UGLY
Well I knew this was coming.It looks like one of the sets of parents of an autistic child who are CONVINCED that mercury-derivative vaccine preservatives are responsible for their child's condition are now SUING Kathleen Seidel of Neurodiversity for having described a suit filed by the autism parents against pharmaceutical companies as "a hydra-headed quest for revenge, for compensation, and for judicial validation of autism causation theories roundly rejected by the greater scientific community."
(4/5/08 Correction: Kathleen Seidel is not herself being sued, but rather is being subpoenaed as part of another case.)
Sounds like a Constitutionally protected opinion to ME.
Although it sounds like what's going on here is that the "Mercury Crowd" is trying to find out if Neurodiversity is being bankrolled by the government and/or the pharmaceutical industry.
On the one hand I think it's absolutely ridiculous the lengths people will go to in an attempt to discredit a BLOG.
On the other hand, maybe it would be for the best to air some of this stuff in open court in the light of day.
If anyone involved took an HONEST look at all the available evidence, one just MIGHT find out that the ACTIVE ingredients of these vaccines might IN SOME CASES contribute to autism symptoms.
Or they may not.
Seems like everyone involved on both sides has such an axe to grind and are so clearly emotionally and cognitively impaired we may never know the truth about what's going on.
Oh, and *I* have been DISSED AGAIN.
In the Kathleen Seidel subpoena in Sykes v. Bayer, down at the bottom of the second page there is a request that Kathleen Seidel produce any communications between Neurodiversity.com and a MASSIVE collection of of Autism and Asperger's related organizations and web sites including Aspies for Freedom, Autistics.org, Ballastexitenz (Amanda Baggs), Hyperlexia, and Neurotypicals Are Weird, but there is not ONE mention of Axinar's.
I'm insulted!
Oh, that's right ... I'm willing to entertain both sides of the story on just about anything so that makes me not even worth being even MENTIONED in a federal case ... :)
Related:
Vaccine-Litigant Thuggery: Subpoenaed For Blogging - Popehat
Kathleen Seidel Slapped With Unconstitutional, Illegal, Barred by the Journalist’s Privilege, and Needlessly Invasive Subpoena - I Speak of Dreams
More legal thuggery, this time against Neurodiversity.com - Respectful Insolence (Science Blogs)
You gotta fight for your right to blog - Clotted Cognition
Vaccine lawyer subpoenas Kathleen Seidel - Overlawyered
Blogger Troubles - SLAPP - Left in Alabama
Kathleen Slapped-Blogs Slap Back - Club 166
How to Treat a Bully - One Dad's Opinion
Bloggers As Targets - Legal Schnauzer
Implication by Association? - ASD :: Commentary on Autism, Disability, and the World
What a Web of actional links we can weave - The Nashua Telegraph
Cyber-Slapp - The Wall Street Journal
Blogger Kathleen Seidel Fights Subpoena Seeking Information About Vaccine Litigation - PBS MediaShift Idea Lab
Labels: Autism, Neurodiversity
Axinar's Posts
7 Comments:
Actually ... I took a look at the subpoena again and I'm guessing the list of blogs mentioned is simply from the Neurodiversity blogroll.
DUH! on me ... :)
Hiya, it's good to see so many folk complain about this. It doesn't look like she is being sued though, but subpoenaed, to produce masses of information about every aspect of her life and online activities. It's desired effect is about the same, to shut her up, and cause her grief, time, money and effort in an attempt to deal with this. It will not succeed. Kathleen is far too smart for these folk, and she has masses of support.
Jenny McCarthy says vaccines cause autism, and that's good enough for me. Not only has she lost a child, but she is also a former nude model with bleached blond hair and breast implants. She definitely has moral and scientific authority in this matter.
Did anyone see her on Larry King? She called the scientist's opinions "bullshit." There's no comeback for that!
(except overwhelming scientific evidence. But I'm not counting that)
My the neurodiversity crowd and the anti-vaccine crowds make such strange bedfellows. Ironic, isn't it. They both cry tears for toasted snow and have simplistic solutions for complicated problems like autism. According to the anti-vaccine crowd it's all mercury poisoning that's what autism really is and the solution is chelation and this will cure autism, problem solved.
The neurodiversity camp also has the easy solution, acceptance rather than cure. Autism is not really a disability just a form of brain wiring that is different and penalized by society. The solution is so easy, societal acceptance and accommodations. Autistics will no longer have problems, they will be able to perform as well as neurotypicals in every area, problem solved.
Interesting two groups of people with such similar thought patterns would be at war with each other, ironic and interesting. I think I'll blog about this.
Oh I'm convinced Amanda Baggs' #1 Fan is autistic himself - big time.
I never thought that ND thought that autism should never have treatment. I guess that's the stupid extremists.....
Well, I believe (and I think others will agree) that there needs to be more services for the autistic and more research done. I don't think we'll be seeing a cure any time soon. Plus, even if autism is brain damage, wouldn't that be permanent?
Still, it;s true- this fight is ridiculous. While I agree that you should treat your autistuc child, I also think that you should accept them.
One group has to stop gloating. The other has to stop whining.
The rest of the story: What Clifford Shoemaker was trying to prevent Seidel from publishing.
http://www.neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/165
Numerous decisions issued over the twenty year history of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) document the extent to which the limits on attorney compensation have been tested by practitioners seeking remuneration from its taxpayer-financed coffers. The following review summarizes decisions involving the recently-sanctioned VICP specialist Clifford Shoemaker, Esq. -- a central instigator of the campaign to convince the public of the speculative, scientifically unsupported hypothesis that a significant number of cases of autism result from vaccine injury, co-founder of the Institute for Chronic Illnesses, and a founding member its Institutional Review Board, which sponsors and provides ethical oversight of medical research and experimentation on autistic children and adolescents conducted by his long-time colleague Dr. Mark Geier.
http://neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/166/
The potential for procedural and billing improprieties by Vaccine Injury Compensation Program petitioners’ attorneys — especially those representing numerous clients with similar, speculative claims — is made painfully evident in Special Master Denise Vowell’s recent fee and cost decision in Carrington v. HHS, Case 99-495V (Fed.Cl.Spec.Mstr., June 18, 2008) (unpublished), posted to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims website three days ago.
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