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PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Yes to childhood My 2016 dream: Biden vs. Kasich vaccinations gene h. By JULIANNE BROCK, protects against more FNP-C than a dozen potentially As a family nurse practi- life threatening diseases, tioner, I get many questions which are preventable from parents about whether with immunizations. to vaccinate their infant or Immunizing indi- child. vidual children also While I understand their helps protect the com- concerns, my overwhelm- munity from the spread ing answer is yes. It’s also of highly contagious important to understand the diseases such as measles. recent law changes effective Vaccinating your chil- next February regarding re- dren is an important ligious exemptions (noted conversation to have at the end of this article). with your child’s medi- Many myths and non- cal provider and ev- evidence-based statements ery parent should feel have circulated around comfortable to share Julianne Brock childhood vaccinations in concerns or questions the last two decades. The about immunizations. most common is that childhood Parents should also prepare for a vaccinations can cause autism. new law if they choose to opt out The scientifi c community doesn’t of immunizations because of non- fully understand how and why au- medical reasons. It takes effect on tism develops in certain children. Feb. 17, 2016. What we do know is that numerous Religious exemptions submitted peer-reviewed scientifi c studies have prior to March 1, 2014 are no longer shown no link between vaccina- valid. Parents choosing a non-med- tions and autism. In fact, the Centers ical exemption will be required to for Disease Control and Prevention submit a document showing either: (CDC) published a study in 2013 A signature from a health care prac- supporting the fact that childhood titioner verifying discussion of the vaccinations do not cause autism. risks and benefi ts of immunization; or As a parent, I understand the need A certifi cate of completion to protect your children from harm of an interactive online edu- and/or permanent disabilities; how- cational video about the risks ever, vaccinations are not the source and benefi ts of immunization. of this. Parents are also required to turn in Another follow-up question I’m documentation of immunizations by often asked: “What about the addi- this date. tives that are in vaccinations? Don’t Your child’s school will have all those cause health problems?” This the information you need; or you is a great question, and it refers to can review the law, Senate Bill 895, the fact that prior to 2002, several online. vaccinations contained the mercury- My recommended resources for based preservative, thimerosal. parents regarding childhood vacci- This preservative is no longer nations: used in childhood vaccinations, ex- Centers for Disease Control: cept for some multi-dose vials of in- www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/ fl uenza—also, science has shown no American Academy of Pe- correlation between thimerosal and diatrics: www.aap.org autism. Healthy Children: www.healthychil- I hope this education provides dren.org (Julianne Brock, FNP-C, is a cer- some guidance for parents as they make one of the most important de- tifi ed family nurse practitioner with cisions for their children. The cur- Willamette Health Partners Family Medicine clinic in Keizer.) rent childhood vaccination schedule guest column Gun violence To the Editor: It was just a few hours after the tragic shooting of the journalist and cameraman in Virginia before the Democratic progressive liberal governor of that state blamed gun violence for the crime. That was followed shortly afterwards by the Democratic progressive liberal for- mer secretary of state and the cur- rent president’s press secretary with the same comments. Their mission is to blame the possession of guns for the crime instead of the men- tally unstable humans. These are the same humans who have killed each other with stones and wood since the days of the cave people. It is not the guns, it’s the knives; knife violence. These are the same knives that have beheaded people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. The very same knives that have threat- en people all over the world with beheadings—including here in the United States. It is not the crazed murderous Is- lamic terrorists. We have to get those knives out of their hands and do back- ground checks on them. That will solve the prob- lem. No, it is humans who kill peo- ple with sticks, stones, vehicles, poi- son, arrows, spears, bats and shovels. Democratic progressive liberals must think the people of the United States are stupid. Could it be a civilization enter- tained by violence from childhood by murderous graphic game vio- lence, or the daily shoot ‘em up cop shows or demolition movies with carnage beyond belief? A society entertained by violence but then demoralized by real life tragedies. Such hypocrisy! Yeah, it is the guns. It’s the knives. John P. Rizzo Keizer letters Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher SUBSCRIPTIONS One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 The other morning I was wonder- ing what headlines I would most like to read while munching my granola, I imagined these as high on my list of most desirables: (1) Jeb moves to Mexico; (2) Hillary wants only grand- motherhood; (3) Trump is commit- ted; and (4) Congress approves Iran deal, avoids another war. Impossible you say; nevertheless, they seem like dreams worth dreaming. But why would I want any of these headlines to be true? I view both Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton weak and indecisive as a president. A good feeling is not what I’d feel hav- ing either one of them win the White House. First and foremost, I do not believe either really wants the job. To me, Jeb’s being strongly encour- aged to run because a huge number of wealthy interests in this country want him as Commander-in-Chief so that they, as during his brother’s and father’s terms, have all the doors of our government open to them to do as they please and, obviously, make tril- lions more dollars by running amuck throughout the land. Like George the First and George II, they manage to do nothing to help or protect ordinary Americans who depend nowadays on the federal government for their very survival. Further, there’s no fi re in Jeb’s belly as is obvious by the lacklus- ter, ho-hum appearances he has made on the “stump.” I think to myself, “That guy’s bored and he bores me.” Of course, he wants all the pomp and pageantry of the presidency while the Bush family would relish more wealth and power that comes with holding the most powerful political job in the world again along with personal pos- session of the White House. Hillary Clinton and her hubby just love money and power so much it seems to just ooze out their pores. She and Bill regularly appear for $500,000 stand ups before those who can pay the tab and will not be denied access to the White House once she’s POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon ensconced in it again with Bill having free reign on in- terns. Then, af- terwards, the two of them can bask again in the limelight, having the throngs of ad- mirers and camp followers throwing rose petals at their feet. Will these two really work on behalf of the America’s Main Street? Don’t bet your life on it as they will have too many political debts as paybacks to spend their wak- ing hours trying to get anything done for you and me. Also, without much of any training and experience but a lot of silver spoon opportunities, Chelsea will probably be the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Securi- ty. Incidentally, since the Bush family has grown to battalion-size numbers, expect the name Bush to appear on the heads of several cabinet members and head many a federal government agency, just to make certain no rich Bush friend goes unserved. Will Donald Trump ever be com- mitted? Of course, The Donald has been committed to strengthening his ego for years. But is Trump cra- zy? Maybe like the proverbial fox. But his plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is comparable to China’s Great Wall may qualify him for a padded cell, especially since he says, and may even believe, Mexico will pay for it. He promises to dis- pose of the nation’s 14th Amendment so that “anchor babies” cannot get a free ride to U.S. citizenship. Does he know what is required to add or take away an amendment to our Constitu- tion? Further, his many vague and un- defi ned threats and promises exceed all but the most naïve among our wishful thinkers. He becomes scary, too, when anyone asks a question he doesn’t like as exampled by Fox News’s Megyn Kelly who was verbally assaulted af- ter the fi rst debate and returned from vacation the other day to receive an- other bat- tering. He is reported to have said that he liked her show better when she was away and said she “must have had a terrible vacation” be- cause “she’s really off her game.” Also, according to mcintyre The Donald’s assessment of her, Kel- ly’s a “bimbo.” Nevertheless, her lead question in the fi rst debate was hard core. Meanwhile, Trump says he loves women but seems to react like a neu- rotic whenever one asks a question that tests his “cool.” As for Jorge Ra- mos, he was shown the exit during a Trump news conference more likely for being an obnoxious activist, not a journalist, with a hidden agenda (his daughter is a Hillary employee and there’s that Univision law suit, too) rather than for being an Hispanic, about which Trump seems to pos- sess some schizophrenic sentiments. As for whether Congress will ap- prove the deal with Iran, the jury’s out until sometime later this month. The U.S. neoconservative empire, Ben- jamin Netanyahu plus members of his Likud right wing party, and long- standing U.S. warmongers have gath- ered their resources and are innundat- ing the airways with ads that urge you to call your member of Congress to discourage voting in favor of it. These Americans were the people who worked together to lie our nation into the invasion of Iraq and they will not be deterred without a sustained fi ght (now well underway) to attack Iran. Their mindset, active at least for the last two decades, is characterized by a preference for military action over diplomacy with an emphasis on uni- lateral U.S. action, exaggerating threats deep into fantasy fare, by leaders who do not level with the American peo- ple about the costs and consequences of war, and by insisting that the U.S. can easily and inexpensively impose our will on any part of the world we choose to do so. Any interested American can identify who these people are by conducting a search of who was who during the George W. Bush administration and those of fa- natical war plans still active in D.C. to this day. Seeking a future characterized by sane developments and war as a last resort, what headline would I most like to read after the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions next summer? That would be “Dem- ocrat Joe Biden versus Republican John Kasich.” These two would pro- pose the most level-headed and least partisan ideas, detailing their plans of action after taking offi ce in January, 2017. And, perhaps most important to bringing rythum to a Washington that’s seen little of it lately, both Biden and Kasich have reputations for being able to work with both sides of the aisle. (Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap- pears weekly in the Keizertimes.) Heroism, American-style By FROMA HARROP Every country has its heroes, but something in America’s cultural sauce makes for a unique and unusually ef- fective variety. The ingredient would be improvisation—the ability to perform without preparation, using whatever is at hand to complete the task. As most of the world knows, Spen- cer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Antho- ny Sadler—three pals on a European jaunt—were on a fancy train hurtling toward Paris, when a terrorist bristling with weaponry started attacking pas- sengers. The Americans were unarmed, but when Skarlatos said “Let’s go” to Stone, the off-duty U.S. airman ran down the aisle, grabbed the man by the neck and wouldn’t let go, even as the attacker slashed him. Skarlatos grabbed his gun. Sadler and a British passenger, Chris Norman, held down various limbs. Improvisation requires letting gut instinct take the wheel from over- thinking. As Skarlatos, a National Guardsman who spent time in Af- ghanistan, later told the media, his ac- tions on the train weren’t “a conscious decision.” Jazz, a truly American musical form, is all about improvisation, making it up as you go. “Do not fear mistakes,” Miles Davis said. “There are none.” “Let’s go” reminded many of “Let’s roll,” Todd Beamer’s famous words on a doomed airliner hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Beamer and other passengers were trying to neutralize the terrorists and regain control of the airliner. Before the Normandy D-Day in- vasion, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower instructed his fi eld commanders to make quick decisions on their own rather than wait for instructions from above. They did, and their improvisa- tion saved many American lives on the battlefi eld. In 2009, pilot Chesley Sullenberg- er landed his disabled airliner on the Hudson River without a single loss of life in a classic example of on-the-spot improvising. Air controllers had suggested one of two nearby airports for an emergency landing, but in- stinct sharpened by experience told Sullenberger to take that uncon- ventional—and successful —option. Perhaps because Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler acted so simply, they did not fully comprehend the complex aftermath of what they had done -- including the depth of their heroism. Exercising calm control, they beat the terrorist unconscious but not to death. Stone attended to another wounded passenger in the car, though he himself was seriously hurt. He is a trained medic. That’s what medics do. Once the assailant was out cold, the Americans, with some help, tied him up like a package and handed him over to the French authorities. In their way of thinking, the drama was over. “I thought they were going to let us go after questioning,” Sadler later told assembled media. Did they imagine that after saving a trainload of passengers, they’d just move on to their next European ad- other views venture, say, waiting in line to see the Le Corbusier exhibit at the Pompidou Center? There was nothing false about these Americans’ modesty. They seemed surprised to fi nd themselves in the ornate Elysees Palace, being handed the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, along with Norman. But there was French President Francois Hollande, tailored to the mil- limeter, handing medals to the three Americans, who, though clean and pressed, were suitless and tieless. (At least their shirts had collars.) Norman had packed a suit and tie. Americans obviously don’t have a monopoly on quick and courageous action. Do remember Jasper Schu- ringa, the Dutch national who may have saved Northwest Flight 253 in 2009. Upon seeing a terrorist trying to set off bombs sewn in his underwear, Schuringa jumped over seats to tackle him and started putting out the fi re with his hands. For the three Americans on the train, improvising saved the day, but because it came so naturally, they didn’t see the big deal in it. By now, one hopes, they know otherwise. (Creators Syndicate)