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"Get jiggy with alternate sources of fuel!" Talking Out of Your Ass

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All I'm really asking, Jenny McCarthy, is that you understand the influence you have as a pretty, Oprah-anointed TV star and you be careful with it. A typical McCarthy justification for believing a relationship between vaccines and autism is that she "just knows" or she "can just feel it," based on her own personal observations as a parent, and her movement gains momentum by other parents that feel it or "know it to be true." In one video, I heard her say "Contrary to scientific belief, autism is not genetic and I truly believe it is a genetic vulnerability." You know why science never says it "truly believes" anything? Because it'sfucking science. Which isn't to say that science is infallible, just that I respect that science won't say that a vaccine is good for you because it "believes" in it. Doctors do research and perform exhaustive and expensive studies (in fact, because the vaccine issue was so high profile, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years studying and restudying vaccinations so much, that, as a result, they couldn't examine any other potential causes of autism). If you're going to be a spokeswoman, you need to know what you're talking about and do actual research, not just quoting articles that bend to your beliefs. Take me for example. I'm no expert on medicine. All I did was sort of study it for a while and read every available piece of literature on the subject of vaccinations in preparation for this column. But I'm also kind of an idiot. So, as I do with most matters I don't fully understand, I decided to turn to a trusted, educated source to get a second opinion. I called my mom, who has been a for-real working nurse for many years and also makes this one pasta dish that'll knock your goddamned socks off.Hey, Mommy, it's Daniel. Is there any link between vaccination and autism?A lot of people think there is, and they want to believe there is, but there just isn't enough evidence to support it. There have been countless, extensive studies into the matter, and there's no link. The case was just brought before Congress, where it was ruled that there was no causation.So why do people think there's a link?Well, we do have more vaccinations today, and autism is on the rise, which may be too cozy a coincidence for some people. And another problem is that autism by its nature will manifest in infancy, between 18 months and three or four years, and that'salso when babies are receiving their vaccinations, which is probably why people assume the correlation. Now, we still don't know what's causing the current rise in autism, but as of now there isBooya.Yes.One more question. Give me the recipe for that pasta that you make that I love.Never. -Click- While I can't say the call ended exactly the way I wanted it to (what's that spice? It's thyme, isn't it? Is it thyme? IS IT THYME?!), I can say that there's more to this issue than saying "I believe there's a link to autism." I also believe that there's a chance I'm wrong. And maybe 10 years down the line, somehow, a link will be discovered, and it'll turn out that Jenny McCarthy was some kind of psychic. But just in case Congress, my mom and me and science are right, don't listen to Jenny McCarthy.