The New York Times has lost its mind

[Guest guest]

I know the NYT relies on Pharma ad dollars to meet payroll and turn a

profit in a shrinking old media world, but this is ridiculous.

The head of the AAP makes a gigantic factual error in her press

release - saying there is no mercury in recommended vaccines - but

that error is unquestioned in print - she gets a pass, and THIS is

the editoral?

Note that the Times clearly noticed her error: see " almost all " .

Editorial

Eli Stone's Overleap of Faith

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/opinion/02sat4.html?ref=opinion

Published: February 2, 2008

You can't help rooting for Eli Stone, the young corporate attorney

who has decided to go to bat for the little guy (after a " Faith " -

singing appears in his living room) in ABC's new

series that bears his name. Unfortunately, on his first try, Mr.

Stone — even with Mr. singing backup and the spiritual

insights attributed to an inoperable brain aneurysm — chose the wrong

cause to champion and sent the wrong message to parents about the

safety of vaccines.

In Thursday's opening show, Mr. Stone, an associate at a high-powered

law firm, suddenly switches sides — from representing a vaccine

manufacturer to representing a mother who believes her son contracted

autism from a mercury preservative in the company's influenza

vaccine. Many parents of autistic children believe that, mostly

because autism becomes manifest at the same early ages that pediatric

vaccines are administered.

Never mind that such authoritative bodies as the Institute of

Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have found

no evidence of a causal link. Never mind that the incidence of autism

continued to rise even after mercury preservatives were phased out of

almost all childhood vaccines. As far as Eli Stone is concerned, you

can't just rely on science. Sometimes you have to go on faith.

A jury buys the argument, especially after the company's chief

executive admits that he wouldn't let his own child take the vaccine.

The winsome, courageous mother and her minimally impaired son are

awarded $5.2 million to teach a lesson to the arrogant, smug

corporate world.

The American Academy of Pediatrics tried unsuccessfully to get the

episode canceled, fearing that it could deter parents from getting

their children vaccinated, exposing them to far greater dangers from

disease. Let's hope that any parents who watched don't make that

mistake. And let's hope that in future episodes, Eli Stone and ABC

show better judgment in picking causes.