Good letter Greg. Anybody for a rational, evidence-based discussion?

Paranoia has existed in this Country for a long, long time. It is not anything against Obama, after all he's only been in office for a little over 10 months so it had to be Bush's fault that H1N1 is around. Just kidding, there will always be people loke that, just wait until we get closer to 2012.

H1N1 is not a government plot. Obama Care is a government plot.

Good one JohnGreen......BTW, speaking of Gov. run health care, see how well our Gov. run postal service is doing? Only lost 3.8 Billion last quarter, things are looking good for Gov. run health care..

I agree Greg.

Unfortunately, the conspriacy nuts just ignore the facts and evidence if it doesn't support their view. There's books to sell and money to be made by selling conspiracies theories to ignorant people.

GB: You obviously are delusional and living in a bubble. Go online and Google information on this hyped up flu scare! The remedy is worst than the disease! There are many testimonies of pregnant women (one of the target group) that are losing their babies (or birthed premature) because of the vaccination. Then there is the denial of culpability by the manufacturers. Do you really trust taking something into you body that you CANNOT receive compensation for when it causes you harm? Great harm in some cases!

And you are really delusional if you believe this government is on the up and up when Big Pharma (or any other megacorp) owns the White House people!

Way to go pollywog! Anecdotal evidence off the internet is way more reliable than peer-reviewed articles appearing in medical journals. Without the internet, where would we be able to find a place to buy snake oil?

If the internet was around in the '50s and '60s we wouldn't have made the strides we have today towards the eradication of polio.

The Journal is constantly publishing letters from ..umm... crazy people.

Greg wrote; "Printing these kinds of delusional paranoid ravings does profound harm to our society. People believe this idiocy and end up not getting vaccinated and that means people will die."

Sad but true.

chase2you, in 2007 the post office was required to fund their insurance programs 10 years in advance. Follow the money. Also they are forced to be revenue neutral. Give them a break.

Greg, This has nothing to do with those that don’t like Obama. In fact, if you do your homework, you will find that the majority of conspiracy nuts are from the left, sheesh, pay attention.

gullible... Peer review? Poor example... Where was the peer review when Aspartame was approved for human consumption? When they were testing the substance, 6 of the 7 test monkeys died and they got the doctors to rewrite the report to be favorable. So tell me how 6 out of 7 dieing can generate a favorable product report? Doctors are among the most easily ''bought" by Big Pharma.

And what about the denial of culpability? Would you buy a new car that wasn't warrantied? Would you inject mercury or anti-freeze into your vein? It's in the vaccine. Would you let your pregnant wife/daughter/cousin/sister/etc take the shot knowing it's a risk. Like playing Russian roulette? So go ahead and have a generous helping! If you have a functional immune system, you don't need it!

BTW, the testimonials I read were from a medical newsletter, just can't remember which one 'cuz I receive many.

Pollywog,

Those are some pretty big claims. It would be nice if you could give some sources.

this is probably the silliest posting I have ever read....either greg is not from the United States or he has lived in a bubble his whole life here on planet earth...Paranoia...I really do not think he has a clue what paranoia really means...and how this one word has been inbred throughout our entire culture for some 200 years..........Here you go....now can anyone find and or name some examples of paranoia being pushed onto the public trust over say the last 200 years?

paranoia |?par??noi?|

noun

a mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance, typically elaborated into an organized system of creating fear. It may be an aspect of chronic personality disorder, of drug abuse, or of a serious condition such as schizophrenia in which the person loses touch with reality.

• suspicion and mistrust of people or their actions without evidence or justification : the global paranoia about hackers and viruses.

DERIVATIVES

paranoiac |-?noi-ak; -?noi-ik| adjective & noun

paranoiacally adverb

paranoic |-?noi-ik| adjective

paranoically adverb

ORIGIN early 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek, from paranoos ‘distracted,’ from para ‘irregular’ + noos ‘mind.’

Thesaurus

paranoia

noun

her husband had concocted a cruel scheme to inflict her with paranoia persecution complex, delusions, obsession, psychosis.

JP... Read "Sweet Deception" (or watch the documentary). As for the vaccines; there are trace amounts of mercury and antifreeze; what they deem As 'acceptable level'. The fact that it is there is disturbing enough. Like flouride in the water; even though it has been proven to be a carcinogen. Acceptable levels to me means ZILCH/NADA/ZERO.

Pollywog- I have noticed that most (if not all) of your "sources" are documentaries and one sided web-sites. Do you ever look at both sides of the argument? I could make a documentary and collaborating web-site about the moon being made of green cheese and praising the health benefits of consuming grilled green moon cheese sandwiches- doesn't make it the truth.

Maybe the package inserts are meaningful to some people - http://j.mp/1x29Aq - http://j.mp/2t84MR - from the FDA

t_b: Ever read the book Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kill? Go ahead and eat Aspartame (an excitotoxin) and when you get old you will burden your family with your alzheimers! Excitotoxins make your brain cells fire until they die. BTW, I don't get all my stuff from just one-sided web-sites. I read many newsletters, technical and subjective books, and alternative-type websites. We all adhere to those that appear to our own understanding. As you read from various media, soon you get to decipher what is truth and what is bold outlandish lies and propaganda.

Main article: Aspartame controversy

The artificial sweetener aspartame has been the subject of controversy since its initial approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974. Concerns have been raised about the quality of the research supporting its safety and the long-term effects that increased consumption could have on the public.[26][27][28] Some scientific studies, combined with allegations of conflicts of interest in the sweetener's FDA approval process, have been the focus of vocal activism, conspiracy theories and hoaxes regarding postulated risks of aspartame.[29][30]

A 2007 safety evaluation found that the weight of existing scientific evidence indicates that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a non-nutritive sweetener.[3] Some sources of claims regarding postulated aspartame dangers and conspiracies have been the subject of critical examination.[31] In 1987, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that the food additive approval process had been followed for aspartame.[26][32] Based on government research reviews and recommendations from advisory bodies such as the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, aspartame has been found to be safe for human consumption by more than ninety countries worldwide.[33][34] In 1999, FDA officials described the safety of aspartame as "clear cut" and stated that the product is "one of the most …

... "one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved."[35] A 2009 study concluded there is no controversy over the usage of aspartame.[36]

Believe the mainline media and the offices that are bought and controlled by the big moneymakers on this additive. Who was the financier on the studies? Follow the money! I will not find an excuse to continue consuming sweets. Propaganda folks so they can continue to double dip your pocketbook... once for buying the stuff, then again when adverse symptoms/disease get you years down in time.

I would welcome a discussion - online, in-person, published, on television, something - by a diverse audience of the pros and cons, questions and concerns, facts and fears about H1N1 and the vaccine. Anyone can name call or make fun of someone they think is on the "other side" of a subject, or laugh at someone who has a different opinion. That doesn't help anyone.

I have real questions and concerns about the H1N1 virus, and about the vaccine. I don't care to call anyone names or discount their point of view. I would like to hear a discussion of the testing of the vaccine (not just that it's "safe, so go for it."). I would like to hear a discussion regarding miscarriage/stillbirth experienced by pregnant women who've received the vaccine. Or the teenager who just developed Guillaume-Barre after receiving the vaccine (reported on most major news stations). At the same time, why are healthy children and pregnant women dying from H1N1? Are the rates drastically higher than for other influenza strains? Does the vaccine always contain at least a trace amount of mercury? Etcetera.

Commonsense...there has been a great deal of information posted on the internet about both the virus and the vaccines. You could spend anywhere from 1 hour to 24 hours of your time reading up on the pros and cons. I have posted my thoughts in other blogs here about both of your questions. I believe I personally had this H1N1 virus about 2 months ago after a visit to Monterey and Patrick50 was actually diagnosed with it a month or so ago and he is still with us. I was not tested, as very few tests for the actual virus have been conducted on the general public who have become sick, and I also survived this flu bug. My history is that I have not been sick in over 30 years..not even a sniffle...but this one took me down..high fever, coughing. bed rest for about 4 days...very bad...and I was only this sick once before in the early 70's ...so it was uncomfortable for sure and no one else in my family got it...? While everyone in Patrick's family did get it? Sounds like a virus that is a little fickle to me. I could go into details about how and where this virus came from and the why's but lets just say I doubt very much this H1N1 was a natural occurrence and or a freak of nature. Medical meddling in viral technology has been going on for some time now..lets leave it at that. As for the vacccine...more that 8 billion has been allocated for the production of vaccine by the USA..then add the rest of the countries and the world costs. You now see the money just research and follow it!