Mountains

This weekend I took the 5 youngest kids to the mountains. Kati (seven years old) wrote a few sentences about it. Here is her perspective along with some photos I took.

I had to much fun today. And we went to the mountons and we wonted to go up mnt scott but the gate was closd. And we got to feed prairie dogs. They wer so cute I wanted to tacke one home. They wer so cute. I would care for it. We got to go to medesen parck and their was a gient scorpien and a artest lived ther I had so much fun we ate at IHOP and I had a funny face pancake and millycent had chicen strips and frys so did kasidy. Kori had a egg omlet and pancks dad had 2 sanwiches we sa a dam and it was runing so pretty I wanted to sit on the rocks and the sound was butifull and I wanted to live by it and there was o castle.

Vaccines and Autism: New-Think Responds

This post is an ongoing conversation with a reader of New-Think. You may wish to read the previous 2 posts to bring yourself up to speed. Note: The reader chose the name "Geezer" for himself/herself, it is not an attempt by New-Think to disparage him/her.

Cheers,

JJ

Random Debating Skeletons

Geezer: I have a few comments about the autism article: Regarding vaccines and autism: Most of the "government required" vaccines have been administered widely to children since the 1950's--when the baby boomers were children. Why was the spike in autism not seen in their generation?

New-Think: New-Think does not claim that vaccines (and or thimerasol) are or are not the reason for the spike in autism. New-Think has merely pointed out that this has been a controversial issue for a while that is now getting its day in court.

Geezer: Regarding using material from aborted fetuses as a vaccine ingredient: This claim is fascinatingly similar to one that was going around 20 years ago that cosmetic companies were using collagen from aborted fetuses in their products. Since cattle, hogs, and chickens also contain collagen, and millions of them are slaughtered yearly it would seem to make a lot more sense that collagen from animals would be a lot more plentiful (as well as a lot cheaper) than the supply available in whatever "market" that might be in aborted fetuses. Turns out this was an urban legend widely circulated among some well meaning people. I suspect this may be one as well.

New-Think: There is a logic problem here…..Allow New-Think to paraphrase: I once heard a similar claim. It turned out not to be true. Therefore, this is not true.

I guess you would like resources to back up the claim. Fair enough. See the links at the bottom of this post.

Geezer: The post contained some seemingly propagandistic language. When I see blame being ascribed broadly to "big oil" or "big pharmaceutical companies" or whoever, red flags immediately go up in my brain. I go into "on guard" mode.

New-Think: My friend. Perhaps you have been a victim of propaganda, but not from New-Think. First, New-Think assigned blame to no one. Furthermore we did not claim that there was anything to be blamed on anyone. We agree that making generalist arguments against big entities (big oil, big pharmaceuticals, big tobacco) is typically a mark of those who cannot be bothered to think through their positions and are just looking for someone to blame for something they do not like.

Our problem with your statement above is that you seem to equate New-Think’s call to not blindly vaccinate with having a grudge against “big pharmaceuticals”. Quite the contrary. We concede that many vaccines have done a great deal of good for mankind. Our point is that does not mean we should assume that all vaccines will benefit every child. This conclusion goes back to the type of logic you seemed to use earlier. Again, let us paraphrase this logical fallacy: Some vaccines have done a great deal of good for a lot of people. Therefore all vaccines are good for people.

So let’s grab the bull by the horns. Even if we assume that pharmaceutical companies and the larger medical establishment have our best interests in mind or are at least neutral…there are some facts we cannot ignore. These are the same groups who originally thought it was safe to use x-ray machines in shoe stores, gave pregnant women Thalidomide for morning sickness and once allowed mercury in medicines. They assured us Vioxx and Duract were safe painkillers, prescribed Rezulin for diabetics and then denied any of them were responsible for patient deaths. If we never questioned these groups, we might not have discovered that Fen-phen and the dietary supplement Ephedra are not safe weight loss products, that antidepressants in kids can lead to suicidality and Viagra can cause blindness. The list goes on.

We are not assigning blame. Our position, which evidently was not clear, is that we should take the responsibility of our children’s safety into our own hands in the matter of vaccine administration…..and everything else.

Geezer: The writer is either assuming something about my beliefs or subliminally trying to influence them without discussion. While these large entities certainly have their interests, there is always another side to the story. I would gently urge Newthink to foster careful examination of all sides (or at least more than one side)of topics like this, and also to use more neutral language.

New-Think: The above collection of sentences is perplexing. It implies that New-Think has an agenda other than urging parental responsibility. Nothing was assumed about the readership of New-Think. It was mentioned that some are suspicious of drug companies. It was also mentioned that sometimes it seems folks who sue drug companies are on witch hunts. Which one of those statements should have been left out to make the language more “neutral”?

At the end of the original post 2 links were provided. One of the links better represents the government/CDC position. The other link is more skeptical. Again, which of these links should have been omitted to make the post more “neutral”?

New-Think thanks it’s readership for thoughtful responses and encourages participation is discussions like this. Even if we do not reach similar conclusions we do know that, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. Thank you brother for sharpening us.

http://www.whale.to/m/aborted.htm
http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/1296/2/
http://www.dgwsoft.co.uk/homepages/vaccines/alternatives.htm

Vaccines and Autism: A Reader Responds

All,
One of the readers of New-Think recently took the time to post a lengthy response to last weeks post entitled "New Thinking About Vaccines and Autism". I am pulling it up to the main page for you to review and comment on. I will be responding to this with a new post within the next few days.

I have a few comments about the autism article:1. Regarding vaccines and autism: Most of the "government required" vaccines have been administered widely to children since the 1950's--when the baby boomers were children. Why was the spike in autism not seen in their generation? I doubt that the manufacturers would have only relatively recently intentionally added mercury or other well known bad actors. See this link to a John Stossel report on vaccines and autism: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=2892683&page=1Seems the relatively recent increase in child autism diagnoses correlates almost exactly with the decrease in diagnoses of childhood mental illness. You mention the drug companies' interest in promoting childhood vaccinations. There is also obviously an interest by personal injury lawyers in keeping the autism/vaccination scare (factual or not) alive and well stirred.2. Regarding using material from aborted fetuses as a vaccine ingredient: This claim is fascinatingly similar to one that was going around 20 years ago that cosmetic companies were using collagen from aborted fetuses in their products. Since cattle, hogs, and chickens also contain collagen, and millions of them are slaughtered yearly it would seem to make a lot more sense that collagen from animals would be a lot more plentiful (as well as a lot cheaper) than the supply available in whatever "market" that might be in aborted fetuses. Turns out this was an urban legend widely circulated among some well meaning people. I suspect this may be one as well.3. The post contained some seemingly propagandistic language. When I see blame being ascribed broadly to "big oil" or "big pharmaceutical companies" or whoever, red flags immediately go up in my brain. I go into "on guard" mode. The writer is either assuming something about my beliefs or subliminally trying to influence them without discussion. While these large entities certainly have their interests, there is always another side to the story. I would gently urge Newthink to foster careful examination of all sides (or at least more than one side)of topics like this, and also to use more neutral language.

New-Thinking About Vaccines and Autism

A landmark court hearing is about to begin and is expected to wrap up sometime around the end of June. The hot topic: childhood vaccinations. The premise of the case and the charge of the plaintiff is that thimerosal (a mercury containing vaccine additive) caused their 12 year old daughter’s autism. Nearly 5,000 people are standing in line behind them waiting for compensation if the ruling goes the way of the plaintiff. To win, the plaintiffs must prove a better than even connection between the vaccine and autism.

So what is the position of New-Think? It is clear that throughout the years folks have put stuff into their bodies and the bodies of others in the name of prevention and health that have been determined, in retrospect, to be horribly toxic to humans. It is very difficult to sort through the opposing sides of an issue like this. On the side of the drug companies we often are left with suspicions about whose interests are being served. On the side of folks who claim to have been negatively affected we are often met with raw emotion and outrage from the outset. Sometimes, but not always, more like a witch hunt than a scientific investigation.

There are two easy paths that can be taken…one is to blindly vaccinate your children with everything the government tells you they need. The other is to fear all vaccinations and thus never vaccinate. Both of these paths are less responsible (and easier) than the middle ground which seeks wisdom about these decisions and takes the responsibility on oneself to learn and decide what is best for each individual child. As parents, we alone are responsible for what goes into the veins of our children. Take time to learn about individual vaccinations. Are they controversial? Why? What is the likelihood of the illness the vaccine prevents affecting your child? How does that risk compare with the statistics of adverse reactions to that vaccine? Has adequate testing been done on the vaccine? The task is not easy….but what else about raising children properly is?

Our children trust us to be wise adults. Proverbs 14:15 says, “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps”. Let’s give thought to our steps. We are children of God, not lemmings.

All of that being said the number of folks who choose to take the path of blindly vaccinating (instead of blindly not vaccinating) appears to be much much larger. So to shock you into thinking about it I will leave you with a list of vaccines that were derived from human fetal cells (from aborted fetuses).

Poliovax…………………………….......Polio
MMR II…………………………….......Measles, Mumps, Rubella
Biavax II…………………………….....Measles, Rubella
MR-VAX………………………….........Rubella
Imovax……………………………........Rabies
Hivrax………………………………......Hep A
Vaqta………………………………........Hep A
Twinrix……………………………........Hep A/B
Varixax……………………………........Chickenpox
Acambix 1000……………………….....Smallpox
MedImmune (manufacturer)…….......Influenza (flu)

Resources:

http://www.vaccineinformation.org/

http://www.vaccinetruth.org/

Some New Family Photos

Jeff Loves Michelle

The Entire Crew at Frontier City in Oklahoma City

Our Lovely Ladies in the Front Yard

Millicent Loves Watermelon.......

....A Lot!

All Wet at Frontier City

Millicent Has an Announcement (hint: read her shirt)

Saturday Afternoon Book Review: Freakonomics

The kids and my pregnant wife are all laying down for an afternoon nap. I decided to take a break from my hammering and banging away in the kitchen so they could get a little sleep. What's on tap this afternoon???? How about a book review.

About a year ago I picked up a book by Stephen Levitt called Freakonomics. Levitt is an economics professor in Chicago and a former Harvard Fellow. So you might be surprised to learn that the book is not boring and technical. To the contrary it is fascinating. Levitt is a pirate, sailing the proverbial seas of data searching for treasure...and frequently finding it. Rather than ramble on let me give you some of the stats he has dredged up.

When selling a home, there are 5 words that Levitt found to have a high correlation with the ultimate sales price. They are:

1. Granite
2. State-of-the Art
3. Corian
4. Maple
5. Gourmet

The following 5 words had a strong correlation to a lower sales price:

1. Fantastic
2. Spacious
3. !
4. Charming
5. Great Neighborhood

Levitt compares standardized test scores with a number of family/parent related factors and reports to us what does and does not (statistically speaking) prepare a child for academic success.

Indicators for Academic Success:

1. The child has highly educated parents.
2. The child's parents have high socioeconomic status.
3. The child's mother was thirty or older at the time of her first child's birth.
4. The child's parents speak English in the home.
5. The child has many books in his home.

More interesting is the list of things that do not have an effect on a child's performance:

1. The child's family is in tact.
2. The child attended head start.
3. The child's mother stayed home with him between birth and kindergarten.
4. The child is regularly spanked.
5. The child's parents read to him nearly every day.

There is much more on the subject in the book.

Levitt dedicates an entire chapter to the socioeconomic factors of names. He breaks name statistics down primarily by race and income....coming up with fun categories like "The twenty blackest boy names", "Most common low-income white girl names". Too much data to post here. One point that the data makes very well, though, is this: The most popular names among the middle class today were the most popular names among the rich a generation ago...and will be the most common names (assuming status quo) among the poor next generation. This chapter is the best in the book.

The kids are beginning to stir.....that means the book review is finished. Being a conscientious father I must mention that there is some subject matter in the book that is not suitable for less mature children. I let my 15 year old read it. My 9 year old...I did not.

Want to know more?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakonomics

http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/

Malcom Gladwell (author of Tipping Point and Blink) breaks Levitt down in much more depth than I can or will. We will be reviewing some of Gladwell's books at some point in the next year or so.

http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/03/thoughts_on_fre.html

God bless. JJ

Babies

A few days before I opened this site my wife, Michelle, informed me she was pregnant (again) and so I guess the story below is being posted now because of that. It is the account I wrote of the birth of our youngest daughter (as of this post) in early 2006. Most of what you read at new-think will not be intensely personal....this is....enjoy.

The Birth of Millicent Grace Johnson: Father’s Perspective (March, 2006)

Millicent Eating Her Veggies

Early in Michelle’s pregnancy with Millicent we began discussing the possibility of a home birth. Initially I was nervous about the prospect. As I began to realize that this was something Michelle was really passionate about doing my nervousness led me into intense research and preparation. In that sense it was a gift from God. By the time Michelle was 6 months along we were decided on delivering the baby by ourselves. Furthermore, God had granted me peace with this decision (primarily through study and watching videos of d.i.y. homebirths) and had also helped me with my comfort level at being Michelle’s only prenatal care provider. This primarily consisted of monitoring her blood pressure and a few urine tests for protein. We decided internal exams were not necessary, and only did them a few weeks out from birth when our curiosity got the best of us and we wanted to know if there was any dilation or effacement.

It was the evening of January 26th (Thursday) when Michelle went into labor. We had been on a date and some contractions started up that did not end until Millicent was with us. Michelle endured approximately 40 hours of low grade contractions that were enough to keep her awake, but not enough to produce a baby. That time was a whirlwind of getting excited……then coming down from the excitement….getting excited again….then coming down. The engineer in me came out and I began creating charts and graphs to track her progress. Every time she had a contraction I was collecting data. How long was it? How intense? How long since the last contraction? The charts confirmed what would have been obvious without charts….not much progress was being made. Michelle mentioned that the charting was probably more beneficial to me than to anyone or anything else. She knows me very well.

By Saturday morning we were all fairly exhausted from anticipation. We (Michelle, me, and Millicent’s 3 big sisters) headed to my parents house to pass the time. My sister, Carol, and her family also joined us. Michelle later confided to me that she felt like a watched pot sitting on the couch visiting with my whole family. Perhaps that is why labor really took off once she retired to my parent’s room for a nap. I don’t think she slept much. After a few hours of intensifying contractions she told me she was going to take a bath. I was still charting…..and it, again, confirmed the obvious….labor was intensifying. I sat in the bedroom adjacent to the bath, watching my favorite basketball team (go pokes) on the television and intermittently asking Michelle how she was doing. When I realized that contractions were anywhere between 2.5 to 5 minutes apart and getting much harder I told Michelle that unless she wanted to have the baby at my parent’s house we needed to head home.

The ride home was interesting. Ashlea and Kati decided to come home for the birth, while Kori opted to stay with her grandparents. 14 year old Ashlea helped calm 6 year old Kati’s nervousness about the impending birth, even though I am sure Ashlea was quite excited as well. On the 25 minute drive home we had to stop 4 times for Michelle’s contractions. They were now to the point where she needed to focus everything on getting through them. I never worried that the baby would come while we were still in the van. God was with us and I felt just as peaceful throughout the whole experience as I would any Sunday sitting in church.

When we got home Michelle immediately got into the birth pool that I had been keeping filled with warm water since contractions started on Thursday. From that time until Millicent was born she only got out once to use the restroom. The birth pool really made things easier on her. We had planned for Michelle to labor in the pool and then get onto the floor or bed for delivery. Plans changed. Michelle announced that she was going to just stay in the birth pool. It sounded like a good idea to me. I lit a candle, turned on some music (mixed contemporary Christian), and found some good passages to read from the bible to comfort Michelle. It was around 5 pm on a beautiful sunny, January, day. All of our curtains were open and we could look out across the miles of uninhabited hills that surround our home as the sun shone in on us. As the contractions intensified we sent Ashlea and Kati out of our bedroom so Michelle could better concentrate. The contractions came one after another and I began loudly praying through them with Michelle. Even at this point, the climax of intensity of pain, the majority of prayers offered were of thanksgiving. I read aloud Christ’s words from John chapter 16,

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

Obviously Christ’s analogy had never been so clear to us (at least me, Michelle was beyond the point of contemplating scripture). I was, and am, so thankful that God uses our earthly experience to teach us about His Kingdom.

Around 5:20 Michelle’s water broke. She almost immediately reported the urge to push. I encouraged her to listen to her body. In a matter of seconds Millicent’s head had crowned. I petted Millicent’s head (now under water) and even thought I could feel a soft little cheek beginning to emerge. I told Michelle to reach down and feel our baby’s head. She did. During the next push (I only remember 2 or 3 pushes total) Millicent came out into my hands. I have never rejoiced as I did at that moment. Of course I rejoiced at the birth of my other daughters, but in the hospital environment I was somewhat restrained by social convention. The first moment after birth was a very tender moment where, silently, I laid Millicent onto Michelle’s chest and we discovered she was a girl. We talked to her and kissed her…and each other….and we wept. If I could live in that moment, I would. Then a joy explosion took place in me, I was unrestrained. I ran through the house yelling….”Praise God!!!! Thank you Father!!!! Girls, come meet your baby sister!!!!

Things calmed a bit. Ashlea and Kati came in to meet Millicent. We had them leave for a few minutes while Michelle effortlessly delivered the placenta. We let them back in. Kati, who was mesmerized by her baby sister, also was interested in the placenta and she examined it carefully. Ashlea did not care to examine it. Soon Millicent was nursing, still attached to her mother. She was born hungry….and she has stayed that way. Kati cut the cord while Ashlea snapped a picture. We phoned everyone who’d been at my parent’s house earlier to let them know it was okay to come out now…..and to bring Michelle a cheeseburger.

It has been over 7 weeks since Millicent was born. She has never been to the doctor….In fact, she doesn’t even have a birth certificate (yet). She has never been sick, either. She has gained over 3 pounds since her birth. With 3 doting big sisters she rarely lacks for someone to oooh and ahhhh over how cute she is.

I loved Michelle with all of my being before this pregnancy and birth experience. I have read many birth stories were husbands and wives speak of the new found respect and love they have for their spouses coming out of the experience. I had such a high level of love and respect for Michelle before the birth that I cannot say that the birth changed it significantly…although it was certainly reinforced. I am thankful to God that He allowed us to trust Him, as a couple, in this experience. I pray that He will use this fortified trust in our marriage for the furtherance of His Kingdom and for the work He has prepared in advance for Michelle and me. I am so thankful that God blessed me with a wife like Michelle. No matter where or how our children are born…..I hope I never face the prospect of life without her. She was truly designed specifically for me. I hope we get to do this again and that God will continue to work with us, teaching us to raise the children He has already given us in a way that is profitable to His Kingdom.

new-think

So I've decided to join the crowd and start up a blog of my own. We'll call it new-think for now, because I like the Orwellian overtone. Truly, though, everything you read here should be anti-Orwellian. Although…all of you may not agree.