Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Everybody saw this coming.

The willow is too close to the house.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Still Employed

Still Employed

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Related to Tim F’s post below, anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy is, amazingly, still employed, most recently as a host of the NYE ball drop on ABC.

McCarthy herself famously told Time magazine: “I do believe sadly it’s going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe. If the vaccine companies are not listening to us, it’s their fucking fault that the diseases are coming back…If you give us a safe vaccine, we’ll use it. It shouldn’t be polio versus autism.”

She came to this conclusion—and published three books on the subject—after her son Evan was diagnosed at age three with the neurological syndrome, and, by dint of sheer energy and celebrity, she became the nation’s most prominent purveyor of anti-vaxxer ideology.

Indeed, she is president of Generation Rescue, a group dedicated to the proposition that children on the autism spectrum can be cured, often by methods that depart from traditional, scientifically supported medicine.

“I am not anti-vaccine,” McCarthy insists. “I’m in this gray zone of, I think everyone should be aware and educate yourself and ask questions. And if your kid is having a problem, ask your doctor for an alternative way of doing the shots”—for example, fewer vaccination doses at the same time.

“The ironic thing is my position has always remained the same. People just never listened to it,” she says. “Literally, throughout the years, I have said the same thing over and over again. But people will only read headlines instead of looking back and seeing what I’ve been saying.”

Sorry, I stand corrected. She’s not an anti-vaxxer. It’s a grey area! The jury is still out! You people don’t listen! Open thread.

Reader Interactions

48Comments

  1. 1.

    'Niques

    If I recall correctly, her son had been misdiagnosed, and turned out not to be Autistic, but to have a rare, genetic disorder. Foolish woman.

  3. 3.

    BGinCHI

    Is it surprising that a number of Americans take their medical advice from a woman famous for having nice boobs?

    Sadly, no.

  5. 5.

    ? Martin

    Barbara Boxer not running for re-election in 2016. Here’s the million-dollar question – does Kamala Harris run for that office or does she wait to replace Jerry Brown as Governor?

  9. 9.

    Face

    @‘Niques: This. For all the stupid shit she’s spewed, her kid doesn’t even have autism. So her “expertise” on the subject is less than nil.

  11. 11.

    Mike E

    Ah, open thread.

    It’s cell phone upgrade time, my razr m was a champ but at 2 it’s at the expiration date so I’m looking at Motorolas (moto X, droid maxx), htc one m8, LG G3 and Samsung galaxy s4…the htc intrigues me, the galaxy is quite ubiquitous, I’ve heard good things about the moto X, LG feels a bit walmart-ish to me and iPhone 5 just seems wrong. I know it’s all 50 shades of meh, but any tips would be greatly appreciated.

  12. 12.

    C.V. Danes

    If you give us a safe vaccine, we’ll use it. It shouldn’t be polio versus autism.

    Ok, even if the choice was polio vs. autism, isn’t polio like worse? If you had to choose one or the other, wouldn’t you rather your child had mild autism as opposed to polio?

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    @? Martin: re Kamala Harris: Isn’t it wonderful to have that set of options? (for both AG Harris and California voters. Win win.)

    Wonder what DiFi will decide, and when ….

    ETA: I see she was just re-elected in 2012.

  17. 17.

    Quaker in a Basement

    I’m puzzled by the headline, “Still Employed.”

    Is it your contention that a television presenter should be unemployed because she was an advocate for a position that was wrong? That sounds like a recipe for a significant spike in joblessness.

  18. 18.

    Rasputin's Evil Twin

    I’m still waiting for the press release that links autism in children to fake boobs on the mother. She’s a nursing school dropout with crazy eyes; why are people listening to her?

    Is she the new Michelle Bachmann? Now that makes sense.

  20. 20.

    squiregeek

    Of course she’s an anti-vaxxer. She just pretends otherwise to keep from being branded a nut. But no matter what kind of vaccine gets developed, she’ll find a reason why it’s not safe and continue her hunt for the snipe, er, I mean the perfect vaccine.

    And th body count will continue to rise.

  23. 23.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Here’s the million-dollar question – does Kamala Harris run for that office or does she wait to replace Jerry Brown as Governor?

    @? Martin: Kamala’s well known in the Bay Area. Not nearly so much statewide (the only reason I know who she is, is because I used to live in SF). She could get that House seat with little effort or expense, and I’d say she’d have a guaranteed win there. No-brainer.

  25. 25.

    mai naem mobile

    @Mike E: i had an htc 1 that i bought out of pocket. I liked the phone. I thought the settings were more intuitive but it would ghost call,switch phone calls for no reason – just weird. I have an s4 and its a very nice phone. My sis has a galaxy 5 which is even nicer and also water resistant. A good friend had a moto x which he said was a POS which he recently replaced with a sony experia which so far he likes. My other sis has an LG which she likes but she doesn’t care much about phones as long as they work.

  26. 26.

    Mike E

    @C.V. Danes: PC Advisor rates the G2 and G3 in their top 3 cellphones of the year, with the Sony Z3… htc one m8 and the note 4 round out the top 5. I’m not gonna get a phablet, and the others are sorta in that category or damn near. G2 seems the smallest which appeals to me.

  27. 27.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    at least Jenny McCarthy, unlike her predecessor Elizabeth Hasslebeck (JM is on The View, right?) is not (yet) considered a journalist or pundit.

    Also, too, Don Lemon, still employed:

    CNN host Don Lemon threw a prominent Muslim human rights lawyer for a loop on Wednesday night by breaking from discussion of the Paris shooting to ask him: “Do you support ISIS?”
    The question came while Lemon was interviewing lawyer Arsalan Iftikhar about the attacks on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
    Lemon said a poll of French Muslims found “16 percent of French citizens” support the Middle Eastern terrorist group known as Islamic State. Iftikhar answered that disenfranchised Muslim populations may sympathize with radicals, but are not necessarily predisposed to violence.
    Lemon said he understood where his guest was going.
    “Would you describe those who support ISIS as Islamic extremists? Do you support ISIS?” Lemon asked.

  28. 28.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    @Mike E: I have the Moto G. I am a diehard evangelist for this phone. No-bullshit Android, no junkware, no bullshit, dirt cheap.

    The Moto X was a consideration all the way up until I pulled the trigger on the G. That’s a great phone as well. But not dirt cheap.

    The G supports USB on-the-go as well, if you use USB headphones or DACs it works with no problems. I assume the X would as well.

  29. 29.

    mai naem mobile

    Fuck Jenny McCarthy. Stupid beeyotch. Whats the difference between her and the Taliban nuts in Pakistan and Afghanistan who don’t let kids get the polio vaccine because its a big western conspiracy to kill muslims. And, yeah, I know about the HepB vaccinatiom clinic OBL hunt/CIA connection. Al man AlZairi is a fucking doctor and he endorses this shit? Innocent kids getting polio because the Taliban is incapable to taking over the vaccination program.

  30. 30.

    Origuy

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:

    She could get that House seat with little effort or expense, and I’d say she’d have a guaranteed win there.

    The question, though, is Boxer’s Senate seat. Harris has been AG for four years, she should have a fair amount of name-recognition statewide. I think I’d rather see her in the Senate than the statehouse.

  31. 31.

    Robert M.

    @Quaker in a Basement: No, she should be unemployed because, in addition to being a television presenter, she makes a lot of money by advocating a soundly disproven hypothesis that leads to preventable deaths.

    Or, more simply, she kills small children for money.

  32. 32.

    feebog

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:

    Kamala’s well known in the Bay Area. Not nearly so much statewide (the only reason I know who she is, is because I used to live in SF).

    Kamala Harris beat Steve Cooley, then the Los Angeles District Attorney, for SAG four plus years ago. We know who she is in SoCal.

  33. 33.

    mai naem mobile

    Kamala Harris should wait to be governator because thats the more likely route to president. Also too, side benefit of wingnut brain explosion from seeing a half black/half-Indian female be president. Pity shes not gay for the trifecta.

  34. 34.

    Mike E

    @CONGRATULATIONS!: I can haz moto X or maxx for free thru verizon (or $30 when you buy their accessory bundle) and I’ve been impressed with my razr m…other phones come with a $50, $100 or $200 buy in. Choices…

  35. 35.

    Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey

    @squiregeek: She’s just a paid shill for iron lung manufacturers who see a growth opportunity.

    Makes as much sense as pediatricians being in the pocket of Big Pharma.

  36. 36.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    Embarassing. Should not post with the flu. I thought Pelosi was out, not Boxer.

    Well, if Ms.Harris could win a Senate race, she can win the governorship, and were I her I’d far rather deal with California politics than the Mad Men in the United States Senate.

    I am dismayed that Boxer has left us so little lead time on this. Two years is not a lot of time to get and prep a candidate, and the California Dem party is a mess, albeit in control of every major state office, but with not much below. Frankly wouldn’t mind seeing Governor Brown in the Senate, but he probably would like some time off…

  39. 39.

    Seanly

    @Mike E:

    I had an HTC One M7, got the HTC One M8 the next year. My very sweet wife likes me to have the newest phone so she gets the older phone.

    At the time the M7 was the best phone I’d ever had. Now, I like the M8 even more than the M7. Definitely a good phone to get if you want an Android. My only quibble is that one of the newer system updates seemed to decrease battery life. I’ve made sure to go into the settings & disable all the Verizon bloatware (like NFL Mobile & Slacker) that I never use. That helps with reducing the drag on the battery.

    Back to the topic at hand, since my wife is currently immunocompromised due to her blood stem cell transplant, I worry about her being around people who aren’t vaccinated. She has to rely on herd immunity until she can get vaccinations in the fall.

  40. 40.

    ThresherK

    As someone who recoils from the sneezing and coughing of others a la Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory”, I’m currently re-reading “The Ghost Map” and considering life as a hermit.

    All I need is to build an airlock with a decontamination chamber so the Peapod deliveries are scrubbed of others’ germs.

    Thanks, Bothsiders!

  41. 41.

    FridayNext

    @C.V. Danes:

    Actually, were it a true choice, I’d go with polio. (of course, it all depends on where on the autism spectrum you have saved me a seat) The fact is, only about 5% of people who “get” polio show any symptoms at all. Even among the symptomatic, less than 2% exhibit paralytic polio. (It has been awhile since I worked with these numbers, so they might be off a smidge, but not much). In fact, it is amazing how many people in their later years contract post-polio syndrome never knowing they had polio to begin with. So if you get polio the chances of you ending up in an iron lung or sporting FDR-like leg braces for the rest of your life is very small. And some amazing people have had polio. Just off the top of my head: Joni Mitchell, Alan Alda, Ian Drury, Donald Sutherland, Arthur C. Clarke, Neil Young, and even athletes like Wilma Rudolph, Johny Weissmuller, and Jack Nicklaus.

    So I take your point. It’s too bad these people couldn’t spend more time and money doing something about the stigma, costs, and other problems of autism rather than spreading their anti-vax nonsense. Polio was just a bad example for her to choose. She should have gone with measles or whooping cough.

  42. 42.

    Origuy

    @CONGRATULATIONS!:

    Frankly wouldn’t mind seeing Governor Brown in the Senate

    Brown would have to leave office early if he won, and he’s not the best of friends with Gavin Newsom. After hearing some of Boxer’s announcement today, I think she may plan to run for Governor in 2018.

  43. 43.

    Jeffro

    There are now more than a 100 countries, including low-income nations like Cambodia and Rwanda, that are better at vaccinating against measles than the United States.

  44. 44.

    Calouste

    @Quaker in a Basement: Or maybe I just know what I know and know what I don’t know instead of thinking the world revolves around me and I know better than people who have been studying and working in a specific field for decades? And of course I am not a television presenter with an audience of millions.

    Note that even though the original article that linked vaccines to autism has been withdrawn, McCarthy still goes on about it.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    Since this is a semi-medical thread, it looks as though my poor #19 molar is doomed. I’m at UCLA to get a CT scan of it to see if there’s anything else it could be other than a cracked root, but I’m not hopeful. If it’s a cracked root, it has to be yanked. This sucks. ?

  46. 46.

    SWMBO

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): I started with the toothache on Christmas Eve. Abscessed tooth that they recommended root canal to fix. Nope. I had it pulled last Saturday. The oral surgeon said, “It’s a good thing you didn’t have root canal. This nerve is completely dead and was untreatable. The tooth next to it isn’t looking so good either.” We’re waiting to see if it gets yanked too. I’m ready to do it. There isn’t much you can do for a toothache that doesn’t make life unlivable. Drinking to excess, pain drugs or suffer seem to be the options. You have my sympathy. If they decide to pull it, are you going to get an implant? I have had a few over the years and I have never had a problem with mine. I’ve had at least 2 root canals that have “failed” and needed extraction/implant done after. Here’s hoping for the best outcome for you.

  47. 47.

    PurpleGirl

    Re Jenny McCarthy: She recently married Donnie Wahlberg. They have a new reality show (I’m tired of hearing the commercials for it): Jenny Loves Donnie on A&E. Is it possible for A&E to sink any lower?

  48. 48.

    J R in WV

    @Mike E: I have the larger Samsung Galaxy, and the battery appears to last for a long time if it isn’t active. It appears to be mostly pure Android, rather than hyped up by Samsung Android, which is a good thing. I hope it lasts until the end of the Verizon contract.

    We are trapped into Verizon because at home it is the only carrier that has connectivity. Really at home no one has connectivity, at winter camp in AZ Verizon has connectivity, here at home we are tied to a land line, because of the geographic conditions. Cell service is line of sight, and our home turf is tightly wound fractal terrain with tiny twisty hollows and steep ridges, and with no line-of-sight to anything possible.

    No respect for the anti-vaxxers. If I get whooping cough, I’ll be suing little Jenny, and if at all possible coughing in her face to boot. She is a monster in my book!

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