Save 'Em From the NFL
They'll squander cash: Michael Miller's September 30 story "Ghetto to Gridiron" was great. These kids have it tough, but they remain optimistic. I just met this kid the other day who got a scholarship for baseball and football at Rutgers. He told me that NFL stands for "not for long." We need to teach these kids financial responsibility too. Once they become highly paid NFL stars, they need to learn to save their money so they don't go spending it on cars and other crap they don't need. I would very much like to volunteer my time and teach these kids some basic finance skills. Please let me know if I can help.
Don Felipe
Castration Conversation
Don't worry: I've been following the ongoing discussion about "Charlie and the Castrators" by Penn Bullock and Brandon K. Thorp (September 30), and it occurred to me that Dr. Gary Kompothecras might be turning up the heat on the state Department of Health in the hope he can get the Geiers — who want thousands of health records — started on their fishing expedition before the election, while his pal Charlie Crist is still governor. One would imagine that afterward, Dr. Gary might not have even half the clout — especially if Crist's opponent in the Senate race continues to have a double-digit lead in the polls.
By the way, in my humble opinion, the folks at the Florida Department of Health can relax a bit. If they're legally obligated to perform due diligence regarding researchers for whom access to confidential data is proposed, it'll take them at least a couple of months to complete the process. (I've spent many hundreds of hours plowing through this stuff.) They will need to gather the reams of material — scientific journal articles, legal documents, and agency records — that reflect directly on the Geiers' qualifications and on their ability to perform unbiased analyses of data and respect patient confidentiality.
Once they've waded through all of those documents and pulled together a report, the project should be dead in the water. No DOH official in his or her right mind would expose the department to liability from citizens whose rights under federal health privacy laws might be violated in the course of the study.
Kathleen Seidel
Do worry: Residents of Florida with children whose data is in this database might want to weigh in with their elected officials on the inadvisability of giving this private information to this bunch of quacks. The potential for disclosure and harm is quite real; the potential for valuable research is not. The recent pediatrics study on thimerosal is much more complete and thorough than anything the Geiers could possibly do with this Florida data. Dr Gorski's quote is completely correct. This research proposal is not based on science. The Geiers have long demonstrated their inability to do or understand scientific research.
Dave Whitlock
You lie: This article is full of false information and innuendo. If you are treated by the medical group mentioned, the first thing you do is a consultation. This costs about $200 (not unreasonable). If your child displays certain symptoms (aggressiveness, improper sexual behavior, etc.) you will have a prescription written for blood work at a mainstream medical lab. One of the tests done is for testosterone. If it is out of the acceptable range, you can then choose Lupron treatment. The drug is covered 100 percent by insurance for early onset of puberty and inappropriate sexual behavior. Most of these children have the mental ability of 3-year-olds. If they act out sexually, they end up being brutalized and put in jail. If you are trying to find a villain, why don't you start with the drug companies who added mercury to vaccines at a level hundreds of times higher than what our government classifies as hazardous waste? Why don't you go after the CDC, FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the other drug company cronies that are responsible for the safety of our children? How about the pediatricians who administered the poison? Dr. Geier and his son David are the heroes of these kids, not the villains. Maybe none of the experts knows the cause of autism. The parents do! Keep up the pressure, Dr. Gary.
Perry
Tea Party Crapola
Rich and stupid: Regarding Luther Campbell's latest column ("Luke's Gospel," Luther Campbell, September 30), the Tea Party has no answers to our problems; the Tea Party IS our problem. It is just a sad group of old, white, racist bigots who are all going to die naturally very soon so they have nothing to say about our future. They can't stand the fact that we have a black president, and when they howl, "Take back America!" they mean take it back from the minorities. They represent only the top 3 percent of richest Americans, so they are our cultural enemies. Barack, don't dignify those lowlifes by asking them for suggestions.
Mark Montgomery
