Just so you know, Erick never replied to me. So much for sincerity.

Nice research. Want to start raising some hell at the Ethics Commission regarding TS possibly hiding contributions from one of their clients?

The Complaint would just about write itself.

A) Not if you’re female and b) diet and exercise cannot be made right with a vaccine.

If you’re against this, then you are against the incentive that drives the creation of such breakthrough drugs. And if you dislike this, then you should be opposed to all drugs while under the control of one company that has the patents to it.

It’s really a terrible point of argument.

So nice of you to ignore everything posted and create a straw man. So you are then in favor of taking away licenses for children who are 16 or 17, as well as enforcing a very strict diet and excercise regimen to prevent heart disease. Or do you not care about “THE CHILDREN”!

I can see why you run away from answering actual questions. Your arguments are emotional nonsense.

Troutman Sanders gave Balfour $1000 6/28 — they lobby on behalf of Merck:

C2006000169
Comm. To Re-elect Balfour
Donald Kenneth Balfour II
Troutman Sanders Georgia PAC
600 Peachtree ST.
Atlanta, GA 30308-3030

06/28/2006
Monetary $1,000.00 $0.00

Lobbyists at TS Public Affairs Group listed as Merck reps — Pete Robinson, CEO; Stephanie Carter, Robb Willis and Shiela Humberstone.

Additionally, Craig Hansen from FL is shown as a lobbyist for Merck.

Merck suspended all Gardasil related lobbying a few weeks ago, but prior to that, they apparently spent a bunch nationwide trying to get this mandate in place before GSK comes to market.

This has been tested for 4 years. The FDA cleared it.

We are talking about a vaccine that will all but eliminate cervical cancer.

Are we seriously having this petty of a conversation on the merits of it?

Now…what I don’t know is how much Merck possibly gave to Balfour during the first week in January, before the Session started; that disclosure isn’t due until 6/30/2007, I think.

He may be in a safe Republican district, but he’s about guaranteed himself that he will not be in a “safe” Republican primary next year, don’t you think?

You said “Do not make an innocent child pay the price of the risk of this type of cancer for the ignorance of their parent.”

So where do we draw the line? Only about 3,200 women die of cervical cancer a year, only a fraction of which would be prevented by the HPV vaccine, almost none of which are children.

On the other hand, 20,000 children in the USA die every year of accidents, 50% of which are auto-mobile related, and a good number of the remainder are drowning victims. So, then, you are obviously in favor of not allowing children to drive at 16, or not allowing children to ride in automobiles?

400,000 people in the USA a year die of diet and exercise related ailments. Are you going to propose that the government publish a menu that all parents must follow when feeding their children?

20,000 people die of sex related illness, a number that is 6 times the number of those that die from cervical cancer. Are you then telling us that everyone should be required to abstain from sex?

How far does your plan for government intervention go? Or is it simply an emotion issue that you make up the limits and rules as you go along?

You said …

“Do not make an innocent child pay the price of the risk of this type of cancer for the ignorance of their parent. ”

Where, then, do we draw the line? Diet and excercise is infinitely more important to long term health than this virus. Even getting protected from this one virus does not guarentee that you will not get cervical cancer.

You are obviously not aware that the biggest killer of children are accidents. In the USA, 3,670 women die of cervical cancer each year, almost none of which are children.

On the other hand, 400,000 people die a year due to poor diet and inactivity, 43,000 die in auto accidents, 20,000 die due to sexual behavior, yet, I have not heard you once claim that we need to teach children to not drive, eat only healthy foods or avoid sex.

When we break down the leading cause of death among the young (the above numbers were for the general population, as that’s what the cervical cancer deaths were for), we find that about 20,000 die in accidents, of which 10,000 are automobile related, and only a reletively small 3,200 die of Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer). Of that, most are cases of Lymphoma and Leukemia. If this is about protecting innocent children from evil meenie “ignorant” parents, why are 16 year olds allowed to drive?

So, the question is, where do we draw the line? How much are you willing to cede to the government to insure absolutely no child “suffers” at the hands of “ignorant” parents?

It is a testimant to how good the times we live in are when this is the best thing the hysterical Chicken Little’s of the world can complain about.

Besides, the “cure” only protects against 4 of the 97 known HPV viruses- not very prudent to force every girl above the age of 11 when only it protects less then 10 percent of the virus

Do not make an innocent child pay the price of the risk of this type of cancer for the ignorance of their parent.

I’m having a very hard time understanding why some would be against this vaccination. In turn, I will likely find that there are going to be some Republicans on this issue who are on the opposite side as me. I wish I had the chance to understand their position.

Is it a politically convenient position or is their position one of convictions?

I didn’t know that Erick’s wife had an ordeal with cancer. Had I known, I certainly wouldn’t have said what I said the way I said it.

This vaccine was tested for 4 years. I do not think that to begin using it is subjecting young ladies to being like “lab rats”.

I think it’s unfortunate that I was revoked from the front page for a misunderstanding that could have been easily cleared up through personal channels.